Tendulkar on the art of batting

Sachin Tendulkar talks to Pradeep Magazine on his approach to batting, why being technically correct is key and the importance of shot selection. More in the Hindustan Times.

Has technical perfection been your strength right from the beginning?

Well, at the start of my career, the one thing I really needed to work on was shot selection. The shift from first-class cricket to playing the best in the world is huge. I played my first series against the likes of Imran, Wasim, Qadir, Waqar and Aaqib and the next against Hadlee and Morrison. They were all top-class bowlers and against them shot selection becomes really important, which as a 16-year-old I lacked. I spoke to a lot of guys and they said it comes with maturity, it is not going to happen overnight as you are used to reacting to a particular bowler in a certain manner. But that will change as the standard of bowling is going to get higher, and you have got to start playing differently. I felt, as time went by, my shot selection became better.