England’s ace all-rounder Ben Stokes is set to make his captaincy debut in the first Test against West Indies, starting July 8 in Southampton.
Regular skipper Joe Root had to leave the England squad in order to be with his wife as the couple is expecting the birth of their second child, which paved way for his deputy Stokes to step into the leader's shoes.
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Ahead of the historic Test, which will mark the return of international cricket after a lengthy COVID-19 hiatus, Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has said that Stokes will lead England from the front and would do whatever it takes to take his side to victory.
"First of all I would like to wish all the best to Joe Root because that's a big moment in this family. I wish him all the best," Tendulkar said during a conversation with West Indies great Brian Lara for 100MB.
"For Ben Stokes from what he has been through in the recent past to where he is today, it is a total transformation and it can happen only to someone who is mentally strong.
"When I first looked at him a few years ago, I could see his body language, it was so positive and vibrant and that energy is infectious. I felt that he was one of those players where in time to come you look back and say Ben stokes, Andrew Flintoff, Ian Botham -- these are the leading all-rounders who played for England," he added.
Tendulkar, who has played 200 Tests and 463 ODIs for India, further said that he rates Stokes very highly.
"He (Stokes) is someone who is going to lead from the front, we have seen that on a number of occasions.
"He is aggressive, positive and when he has to be slightly defensive, he is prepared to do that for the team.
"I always feel controlled aggression produces results and so far whatever I have seen, the aggression has been there but it is controlled. So this is what I think of Ben Stokes," the 47-year-old stated.
Earlier this month, Stokes had said that he considers the opportunity to lead England at the international level a "huge honour", even if that happens only once in his career.
“Getting the opportunity to captain England is a huge honour. Even if it’s only the once, you can say you captained England. So it’s something that I’m looking forward to if the opportunity presents itself. But also I know I’m only stepping in to take over the reins because of Joe’s personal situation," he had said in a virtual press conference.
Root is expected to return for the last two games of the series. Manchester will host the second and third Tests from 16-20 July and 24-28 July respectively.
