Tendulkar on how tennis ball can test batters' technique

Legendary Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday, revealed he used his experience of facing reverse swing in international cricket to introduce it in the tennis-ball tournament Indian Street Premier League.

The second season of ISPL which will feature six teams from the inaugural edition will be held at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium in Thane from January 26 to February 9, 2025, with trials in five zones of the country to be held in 55 cities from October.

Without divulging much, Tendulkar hoped that the tournament which had crowds in excess of 30,000 and more inside the stadiums will soon have female cricketers a part of it as well.

“If we are giving some advantage to the batsmen then the bowlers also need to get in the game,” he said while talking about specific rules of the league such as 50-50 and awarding nine runs for a single shot.

“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,” he said.

“I thought why not introduce it in this format and if this is implemented then the batter's technique will also be tested.”

Unlike in case of red ball where batters need to play close to their bodies, it is completely opposite in case of taped tennis ball.

“(Playing with) tennis ball is all about keeping your hands away from the body and (go for the) jerk-swing but when the ball reverses, you need to keep your hands closer to your body. This adjustment in technique was difficult when it started, but slowly the players adapted,” he said.

Tendulkar said the bowlers, who like others had come through trials and selections, were not used to playing with the taped ball but they learnt after having spent some time with it.

“Possibly the bowlers were not used to bowling with the tape ball and reverse swing. The first match that I observed, I saw the number of wide balls bowled and the bowlers not able to get it correctly,” he said.

“The next morning, I suggested to Suraj (Suraj Samat, ISPL commissioner) that we hold a meeting with all coaches and I want to tell them how the bowlers should use that to their advantage.”

He spoke about how the understanding of release point while bowling worked for the players.

“If it (release point) is point A and the batter is point B, they are only aiming at B and by the time the ball travels the 22 yards, it would swing away from the leg stump," he said.

“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."

Tendulkar suggested bowlers aim at the spot rather than see 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.