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BSP-05
CRICKET-AUS-IND-TENDULKAR-LABUSCHAGNE
Tendulkar likens Australia’s Labuschagne to himself
SYDNEY, Feb 7, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar paid
Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne the ultimate compliment on Friday,
singling him out as the player most like himself.
Labuschagne emerged from nowhere to become Test cricket’s leading scorer
last year with 1,104 runs, including 896 since November — beating the great
Neil Harvey (834) for the most scored by an Australian in a five-Test summer.
None of this may have happened if Labuschagne had not grabbed his chance
as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith during Australia’s Ashes campaign
in England last August.
He made the most of the opportunity, reeling off four consecutive half-
centuries and finishing the Ashes with 353 runs at 50.42, before an
incredible summer series against Pakistan and New Zealand.
Tendulkar was at Lord’s when Labuschagne came on as Test cricket’s first-
ever concussion substitute and was immediately impressed.
“His footwork was incredible, so he would be the one I would say,”
Tendulkar said in Sydney when asked if any modern-day player reminds him of
himself.
“I saw Marnus getting hit (on the helmet) off the second ball from Jofra
Archer and post that, the 15 minutes he batted, I said ‘this player looks
special, there is something about him’.”
“Footwork is not physical, it’s mental,” he added.
“If you’re not thinking positively in your mind, then your feet don’t
move. That clearly indicated to me that this guy is mentally strong because
if you’re not, your feet will not move.”
Tendulkar, India’s greatest-ever player, who scored 15,921 runs from 200
Tests, smacking 51 centuries, is in Australia to take part in a charity match
on Sunday in Melbourne to raise funds for bushfire relief.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1200 hrs