Sachin also refused to compare the current bowling unit with that of 2003 and 2011 when India reached World Cup finals.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Monday (June 3) showered rich praise on India’s bowling attack, saying it is the “most complete” of this era. However, he refused to compare the current bowling unit with that of 2003 and 2011 when India qualified for the World Cup finals.
“I don’t like comparisons as those were different eras, where different teams played on different surfaces under different set of rules,” Tendulkar told PTI.
For the Master Blaster, who was part of India’s triumphant 2011 World Cup campaign, the change of rules makes it difficult to compare generations.
“We have two new balls and fielding restrictions in place (four fielders outside 30-yard circle between overs 11 and 40 and one more in the last 10 overs), it is like 100m runners are now running 90m or 80m because laws have changed.
“It is difficult for bowlers with no reverse swing which single new ball offered. So if you want to judge the current Indian attack, they should be judged with rival attacks of this generation only. But yes, when it comes to this era, this is a very good attack,” he further explained.
Sachin also lauded the attacks of 2003 and 2011 for their awe-inspiring contributions.
“However I can’t take away anything from the contributions made by the bowling attacks of 2003 and 2011 World Cup campaign. In 2003, that bowling attack (Srinath, Zaheer, Nehra and Harbhajan) took us to the final while we did one better in 2011 (Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan, Munaf Patel and Yuvraj Singh).”
However, with the world’s premier pacer Bumrah in its rank, this attack is as good as it can get, reckons Tendulkar.
Apart from Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the other two fast bowlers in India’s World Cup squad while Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will take care of the spin department. Moreover, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are also there in the 15-member squad as a seam bowling all-rounder and spinning all-rounder respectively.
“What’s the best thing about this attack is the fact that they are on top of their game. It is the most complete in this era. Bumrah has been world’s no 1 bowler in this format for some time now. He has been our ‘go to man’ providing crucial breakthroughs whenever needed.
“Also the two wrist spinners (Kuldeep and Chahal) operating in tandem during middle overs will be crucial as we are expected to get more wickets in that phase. So overall, it’s a very good attack of this era,” Sachin Tendulkar concluded.