Sachin switch whips up frenzy
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Feb. 23: It’s a well-chronicled fact that Sachin Tendulkar is ambidextrous. On Wednesday at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium, the Little Master, who is keeping a nation waiting with bated breath over his recovery from a knee injury, showed glimpses of his amazing talent.
Following the opening game against Bangladesh on Saturday, Tendulkar hadn’t picked his bat and after four days, the champion showed that he had recovered enough to have a long hit in the nets and what’s more, he even batted left-handed just for good measure! Switch hit? Move over Kevin Pietersen. Alarm bells started ringing when Tendulkar skipped the practice session the previous day and restricted himself to the gym after complaining of uneasiness on his left knee.
But on Wednesday he batted with ease during his close to one-hour stint at the nets, showing little discomfort, against both the pacers and spinners. He was at his best while facing the mandatory short throws from coach Gary Kirsten and was quick to pull anything short of length.
Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag was the only player to miss the optional practice session, which may raise a few concerns about his fitness ahead of Sunday’s clash against England.
Sehwag, who had employed a runner towards the latter part of his epic 175 against Bangladesh, had skipped the practice session on Tuesday too.
Along with Sehwag, the other injury concern for India, Ashish Nehra, also stayed away from bowling during practice, but did undergo weight training.
Apart from the duo, the rest of the players had a rigorous practice session. After fine-tuning their skills at the National Cricket Academy nets, the players moved to the adjoining Chinnaswamy Stadium to test their big shots against the spinners.
Tendulkar, following a brief catching practice, keenly watched his team-mates go for lusty hits and surprised everyone by taking a left-handed stance.
The net bowlers could rarely trouble the left-handed master, as he sent a couple of balls soaring over the boundary even as the rest of the team watched in admiration.
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