Over the years, whenever a cricketer comes up with a string of sensational performances, there is a tendency among fans to make comparisons with a former legend of the game. Most would be familiar with the routine; this X batsman is virtually succeeding the legendary Y in the team. This bowler, his style is so much similar to that bowler. Here’s a popular example, a lot of Indian fans would be familiar with this- comparing Virat Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar.
In all fairness, though, Kohli isn’t the sole ‘designated’ player who has made waves as the ‘next-generation Sachin’. Time and again, batsmen have come-up with an amazing run of consistency, which, in-turn, results in an almost obligatory comparison of the said player with, you know who. Of course, players with an Indian background have more of a likelihood to drawing comparisons with the ‘Master Blaster’. For Sri Lankans, it’s often Kumar Sangakkara; Sir Donald Bradman for the Australians, Kevin Pietersen for England; the list goes on.
And honestly, it’s not that hard to understand the society’s obsession over unearthing the next legacy. Browse through some of the stats; Tendulkar, the player with the most test and ODI appearances, has scored over 34,000 international runs which include 100 centuries. Second on the list, Kumar Sangakkara, was just 6000-runs short. The legendary Bradaman’s average hovered around an insane figure of 99.94. So there’s a reason, well and good, behind all these wild assumptions.
Tendulkar reveals the player who reminds him most of himself
So for all we know, conversations about the future cricketer-of-the-past can go on for all eternity. And perhaps, in an attempt to stop this barrage of speculations, Sachin Tendulkar finally decided to make a big-reveal in the international-circuit. The iconic former India-player finally had an answer to the perpetual question: which player reminded him of himself the most? And Tendulkar had a simple answer. “Marnus Labuschagne. His footwork is incredible, so he would be the one I would say.” He further explained about an aspect that he believed made the young Australian batsman particularly special. “During the Ashes, I saw Marnus getting hit (on the helmet by) the second ball he faced from Jofra Archer. Despite the blow, the 15 minutes he batted after that was amazing. I said ’this player looks special, there is something about him’,” Sachin elaborated.
Tendulkar further commented on the particular bits of technique that he admires about Labuschagne. “He has a precise footwork. It’s important to realize that footwork isn’t physical, it’s mental. If you’re not thinking positively in your mind then your feet don’t move. So that clearly indicated to me that this guy is mentally strong,” Sachin concluded while speaking to the media on Sydney. He’ll be coaching former Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s team in the upcoming Bushfire charity match on Saturday.
Labuschagne’s blazing initiation
Marnus Labuschagne, meanwhile, finished 2019 as the leading run-scorer in test matches. In 17-innings, Marnus compiled 1104 runs at a staggering average of 64.94. The year 2020 also started on a high-scoring note for him. Playing against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Marnus played a fashionable knock of 215-runs to score the first double-century of the new decade. With such a blazing start to his career, no wonder fans, and Tendulkar himself, have predicted him to be one of the best cricketers of the new era.