Sachin spins a new mantra

New Delhi: An off-spinner who can bowl leg-breaks is like a multi-lingual, said Sachin Tendulkar, reflecting on the growing demand for wrist spinners in limited-overs cricket given the difficult questions they are posing to batsmen all around.

While Tendulkar did not take any names, his observation on off-spinners trying to bowl leg-break would certainly be music to Ravichandran Ashwin's ears, as he is trying his hand at wrist spin with an eye on national comeback in the shorter versions.

"I feel it can only help. It's like you know two to three different languages. Now there is no harm in knowing five or six different languages. It can't take away anything from you," Tendulkar, who is celebrating his 45th birthday on Tuesday, told PTI in an interview.

"It's exactly the same when one develops more variation. So it's wrong to say that they (finger spinners) are joining a bandwagon now that they are bowling leg spin. No, they aren't. Rather, we should see that they have put in effort to develop a delivery," he said.

And what does he make of the view that the off-spinners' attempts are futile? "I think it's wrong thinking of people (that off-spinners can't bowl leg-breaks). I am not blaming the player here. I am blaming the people (perception) here. Leg-break could be just another weapon in your armoury. "People can bowl off-spin but along with that off-spin, if they are capable of bowling leg-spin as a variation, then why not," Tendulkar said.

The legendary batsman feels that if someone can get his leg-breaks right, it should be considered a strength. "If doosra bowled by an off-spinner is seen as a weapon, then him bowling a leg-break if situation demands, shouldn't be considered his weakness. Rather, it should be considered his strength, when he gets it right.

"I can talk about myself. In matches, I used to bowl off-spin to left handers and leg-breaks to right-handers. If you are able to do it, then why not." On the younger lot of batsmen failing to read leg-break bowlers' wrists, Tendulkar feels that the current crop of bowlers have really made the willow-wielders think.

"I don't think it would be a great thing to generalise that batsmen are not reading the googlies from leg-breaks. A batsman can see an outswinger and still manages to edge it. "To err is human. But I agree that leg-spinners have forced today's batsmen to think more," said the legend of 200 Test matches."

Mumbai Indians' young leg-spinner Mayank Markande has been one of the finds of the season and Tendulkar lavished praise on the Punjab youngster. "Leg-spinners have got the batsmen to think. Mayank (Markande) has got the batters to think and watch him even closely. It is a compliment to Mayank's ability that he has been able to disguise his googly so well.

It is indeed praiseworthy," the MI mentor said. But he does believe that if there is will power, the batsmen can do their homework against leg-spinners, like he did way back in 1998 in order to tackle Shane Warne before a home series against Australia.

Tendulkar roped in former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan to bowl to him on under-prepared pitches with rough on both sides. But will today's players be able to find time with the pressure of three formats? "Of course, time is there. I don't see any reason to say there's no time. One needs to chalk out a plan and then follow that. It boils down to an individual.

Tendulkar has seen an evolution happen in world cricket since the time he made his India debut as a teenage prodigy at the age of 16 in 1989. "Change has been the only constant thing. The biggest change has been the advent of T20 cricket and the kind of impact it has had on cricket-loving public. It has grabbed eye balls.

By: Kushan Sarkar