Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time. Fondly known as the Master Blaster, Tendulkar represented India in 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, scoring the world record number of runs (15921 in Tests and 18426 in ODIs) and centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).

During his playing days, Tendulkar used to carry the entire nation’s weight of expectations on his shoulders. He played a crucial role in bringing many laurels to the country, including the coveted World Cup trophy in 2011.

Now, even after 10 years of his retirement from international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar is doing his best to transform the game's grassroots level.

In order to elevate the level of competition and challenge players technically, Tendulkar, a key figure in the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), introduced the concept of reverse swing to the tennis-ball tournament.

The second edition of the ISPL, comprising six teams, is slated to run from January 26 to February 9, 2025, at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium in Thane.

"If we are giving some advantage to the batsmen then the bowlers also need to get in the game," Tendulkar said, as quoted by PTI.

He added, "During my playing days, I used to tape the ball up from one side. In season (leather) balls, we look for the shiny and the rough side and in the tennis ball, we would apply tape on one side and I used to practice reverse swing to face it in international cricket. I thought why not introduce it in this format and if this is implemented then the batter's technique will also be tested."

Earlier, bowlers in the ISPL were not used to bowling with taped balls and generating reverse swing. But Tendulkar addressed this concern by conducting workshops with coaches.

"The first thing they needed to learn was to think about the release point and the place between point A and B - I'll call it A plus - you target that and the ball will undoubtedly go to the batter," the batting legend said.

Sachin Tendulkar wanted bowlers to aim the spot rather than see at the batter. “It is just about the mindset and backing yourself to bowl where you do not see a batter. You are used to figuring out a spot and bowl there but when the ball starts reversing, the landing spot changes. They made the adjustment quickly,” he recalled.

(With PTI Inputs)