Sachin Tendulkar advises Vaibhav Suryavanshi, says young batter must be allowed to grow naturally

Sachin Tendulkar was named Greatest Men’s International Batter of the 21st Century at Cricinfo Honours Awards 2026. The India legend reflected on India’s 2011 World Cup win, batting evolution, ODI rule changes, and advised young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

Hyderabad: One of the legends of the game, former India batter Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the ‘Greatest Men’s International Batter of the 21st Century’ at the Cricinfo Honours Awards 2026. Speaking at the event, Tendulkar advised Vaibhav Suryavanshi on his bid to become an all-format batter, weighed in on how the two-new-ball rule reduced bowlers’ impact, and reflected on his favourite memory from India’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2011-winning campaign.

Speaking during the Cricinfo Honours Awards 2026, Sachin Tendulkar recalled one moment that stood out for him during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2011 triumph, Sachin said: “It’s hard to pinpoint one moment, but generally everyone was talking about how to handle pressure. Whenever we were flying, we were told that we had to win the World Cup, but not feel any pressure. We had to score runs, but not take any stress. ”

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“So, we had a lot of meetings and discussions about how to channelise pressure and direct it in the right way. The direction of pressure is really important. If it’s sitting on your shoulder and pushing you down, you’re going to sink, slowly but surely. But imagine a billion-plus people walking ahead with you, marching in the direction that all of us, the 15-member squad, wanted to go. Very few people can stop that team. And that was something that stayed with me,” Sachin said.

On the key factor for a batter to be able to dominate all formats of the game, Sachin said:

“The game is evolving, and we need to accept that it will continue to change because the rules and formats have changed. From a batter’s point of view, the most important factor in adapting to all formats is the backlift. I think the moment a batter is able to control his downswing, he will be able to conquer all formats.”

“The T20 demands aggression, ODI is somewhere in between, and Test cricket tests a lot of things. So, adaptability is crucial. I would always be wary of a decent player willing to respect conditions and bat accordingly, rather than someone exceptionally talented who is not willing to accept conditions and bats only the way he is used to,” he said.

“In Test cricket, at some stage, you will have to defend the ball. As long as a batter is able to defend properly against a quality fast bowler on the front foot, that batter will be successful at any level, more so in Test cricket,” Sachin said.

On his advice to Vaibhav Suryavanshi to become an all-format cricketer, Sachin said: “I would tell Vaibhav just to be himself. There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with time and age, he will learn how to deal with various challenges, while having a solution-oriented mindset.”

” Problems are always going to be there, till the last day of your career, till the last ball you face. The bowler is asking you a question with every ball. Now, what solutions do you find? He is the kind of player who looks very confident and very sure of what he wants to do. I wouldn’t want to interfere with his natural instincts because the way he sees the ball and the way he responds to it are important. If that signal is interrupted, it will be a real challenge. I would give him the freedom to go out and bat the way he does,” Sachin explained.

On seeing Vaibhav Suryavanshi playing Test cricket, the legend said: “Not just me, everyone would want to see him playing Test cricket at some stage. I don’t know when that is going to happen, but an exciting talent needs encouragement. If he’s doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and, above all, enjoy watching him, rather than constantly putting pressure on him. And leave the decisions of whether he should play, whether he shouldn’t be doing something, or whether he should be picked in a particular squad to the people who are responsible for making those decisions.”

On how the two-new-ball rule in the ODIs tilted the balance in favour of batters, Sachin said:

“The two-new-ball change was slightly difficult for bowlers because we lost reverse swing in the game. Earlier, bowlers used reverse swing in the middle overs to pick wickets, and I have seen fast bowlers bowl with a slip even in the 45th over because the ball was reversing. ”

“With two new balls, the ball continues to stay hard, which helps batters get more distance and comfortably clear the ropes. The difference with one ball was that, as the game progressed, visibility gradually went down,” he said.

” I once explained it using the example of floodlights: if you switch off two of four towers, visibility drops dramatically. That’s exactly what happens when a batter is facing an older ball. At times, batters would even ask for a ball change because they could not see it properly. By then, the ball had softened and started reversing. Less visibility meant fewer scoring options, less reaction time, and batters picking the ball slightly later,” Sachin concluded.