“Tape the ball up…”: Sachin Tendulkar on how he used to tackle reverse-swing

Widely regarded as one of if not the best batter to ever grace the game, Sachin Tendulkar recently shared  how he worked on improving his skills to tackle reverse-swing. The legendary batter played in an era where pacers like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis dominated the game, but he found a way to deal with them.

To tackle reverse-swing, Tendulkar made certain adjustments to his technique. He revealed how he used to practice with a tennis ball by tapping from one side to polish his skills.

“During my playing days, I used to tape the ball up from one side. In season (leather) balls, we look for the shiny and the rough side and in the tennis ball, we would apply tape on one side and I used to practice reverse swing to face it in international cricket,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), a T10 cricket tournament, has brought a twist in their new season with the introduction of reverse swing through the tennis ball.

Tendulkar, who is a Core Committee Member of ISPL, feels that the introduction of reverse swing will test the batters’ techniques.

“I thought why not introduce it in this format and if this is implemented then the batter’s technique will also be tested. If we are giving some advantage to the batsmen then the bowlers also need to get in the game,” Tendulkar said.

The ISPL is India’s first-ever tennis ball T10 cricket tournament which is played inside a stadium. It’s second season is set to commence from January 26, 2025.

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