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Sachin Tendulkar Makes Bold Prediction; India To Win 3-1 Against England
Follow UsSachin Tendulkar also has special advice for Rishabh Pant, stating that ‘he should back his instincts’
It has been 18 years since India last won a Test series against England, and the task of winning in England just got tougher. India will go into the much-awaited five-match Test series without the experienced trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, which puts a lot of pressure on new skipper, Shubman Gill.
Gill’s India will be the underdogs going into the series, but Sachin Tendulkar reckoned that India might edge past England 3-1, much to the surprise of the widespread predictions.
"I have settled for 3-1 to India,” Sachin told ESPNCricinfo.
It is no surprise that if India have to win the series in England, they will need the best of Rishabh Pant. Across nine encounters in England, Pant has amassed 556 runs, averaging 32.70, wherein he’s scored two hundreds, including an impressive 146 in Birmingham back in 2022.
Tendulkar backed Pant to do well, and reckoned that the wicketkeeper batter backed his instincts most of the time in England. Not just that, the Master Blaster also revealed that there will be situations where Pant will have to curb his instincts for the larger interest of the team.
"He [Pant] should back his instincts most of the time," Tendulkar said. "But there'll be situations where he'll have to curb his game in the interests of the team. I know that whatever he does the rest of the time will also be in the interest of the team, but the approach might have to be different. He has to have that flexibility in his mind,” he added.
“If there are times when you're looking to save the game, then he may have to adapt that defensive approach, for let's say an hour or 45 minutes or sometimes two hours, where he'll have to just take those risky shots out of the game and not be as aggressive. He could be positive, but the shot selection will come into play.”
What would Tendulkar, the captain, do in such a situation? Just ask Pant to play his natural game, and read the situation.
"Otherwise, nine out of ten times, if I'm the captain, I'll say, 'Just go out and play your game, why worry about anything.' If you're looking to save the game, that is when the approach changes a bit, but otherwise I would tell him that you go out and be yourself and do what you feel is in the best interest of the team."