Sachin Tendulkar urges Mumbai U-16 boys not to be taken in by T20s

After boosting the confidence of the Mumbai Ranji team in a pre-season interaction earlier this year, Sachin turned his attention to the U-16 team, who travel to Bangalore today for the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy knockouts

After boosting the confidence of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in a pre-season interaction earlier this year, Sachin Tendulkar yesterday turned his attention to the Mumbai U-16 team, who travel to Bangalore today for the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy knockouts.


Sachin Tendulkar

The batting legend spent nearly two hours with the boys during a training session at MCA's Bandra Kurla Complex Ground yesterday, offering them some advice on how to excel in the competitive junior cricket world.

Arjun injured
Tendulkar's son Arjun was part of the U-16 team, but was ruled out of the knockouts due to a back injury. Yesterday, he accompanied his father to the ground as he was keen to watch his teammates practice.

Tendulkar first watched the boys in the nets and then had one-on-one sessions with the fast bowlers. "He showed them how to grip the ball differently for out-swingers and in-swingers. He also bowled in the nets to explain some of the finer nuances of bowling to the youngsters," a source told mid-day.

Tendulkar urged the lads not to be inspired by Twenty20 cricket. "Sachin asked the boys to stay away from practicing some of the flashy T20 shots. He said the boys should concentrate on improving their basics at the moment as they are just beginning to learn the game," added the source.

Replying to query from a youngster on how to build an innings, the batting legend is believed to have said: "Don't look at the scoreboard. If you ignore your individual score, you will never play a rash shot. Always think about the team. Remember it's we and not me."

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