As India Prepare For 'Different Format' World Cup, Sachin Says They Should Pace Cleverly

In 1992, Sachin Tendulkar played his first World Cup. It had been just three years since he made a 'bloody nosed' international debut against the Pakistan pace battery.

But little did the then 18-year-old Tendulkar know that he will go on to play five more ICC World Cups, winning the trophy in his last World Cup hurrah at home in 2011.

Before Tendulkar, only Javed Miandad knew what it felt like to play six World Cups. He might have hung up his cricket boots, but whenever the showpiece event is around the corner, Tendulkar seems to have that unmatched adrenaline rush, which is set to once again grip the imagination of the cricketing world.

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"Representing the nation is the highest honour and to play the world cup is possibly the biggest tournament any cricketer can play," Sachin told Timesofindia.com. "When these two things coincide, it makes it a big tournament and memories that last forever."

For sure, making his World Cup debut was one of the finest memories Tendulkar carries. But that 1992 tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand was also unique, compared to the other five Tendulkar featured in.

Before the upcoming edition beginning in England and Wales on May 30, the World Cup in 1992 was the last time when a full round-robin format was used. It's not a surprise then that Tendulkar was quick to touch upon that and pointed out that peaking too soon in this long-drawn format could prove to be dangerous.

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"It's a long tournament, new format, so pacing yourself cleverly is going to be a critical factor," he said. "We (India) just need to stay focused on the process and the result will take care of itself. That is what I would say: Stay focused on the process and enjoy these moments."

Tendulkar saw India's World Cup journey in the 2015 edition from the sidelines for the first time in 23 years. The MS Dhoni-led team lost to Australia in the semi-finals. While Dhoni is still there in the scheme of things, holding the team together with captain Virat Kohli, the Indian squad overall has a different hue compared to the one in 2015.

Tendulkar spoke about that, while maintaining that it is "more or less the same squad".

"I think (in) the current World Cup squad, we are looking at a couple of all-rounders, in someone like Hardik (Pandya), a seam-bowling all-rounder. His inclusion is going to be critical. (Also) Vijay Shankar, who can bat and bowl.

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"We are also looking at quality wrist spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) to bowl in the middle overs. We have also got Ravindra Jadeja, who has been there for a while," Sachin said. "These inclusions would give a new dimension to the team compared to 2015."

In the build-up to the World Cup, Tendulkar ranked Jasprit Bumrah as the best bowler currently in limited-overs cricket. Bumrah's fellow pacers in the World Cup squad, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, complete India's specialist fast-bowling unit.

"I really like what I see in this bowling attack; I feel it's a complete attack," said Tendulkar, the only man to score hundred international centuries. "But it's always nice to not compare the two teams (2015 and 2019), their strengths and their weak areas."

One of Tendulkar's six World Cup appearances was in 1999 in England, co-hosts of the upcoming 12th edition of the tournament. However, there is a big difference in the conditions and pitches in England now, as compared to those two decades ago.

In the four completed ODIs between England and Pakistan recently, totals of 350 became commonplace and were even chased down a couple of times by the hosts, who won the five-match series 4-0, with one game washed out.

"I think the pitches have changed but also not to forget that in 1999, we played with the Dukes ball, which is a completely different ball. It has more bounce than the Kookaburra, and it swings differently compared to the Kookaburra," analysed Tendulkar.

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"I feel the tracks are different now, with summer setting in. It's a warm summer, I am told."

The 46-year-old Tendulkar then talked about a number of factors that loaded the game heavily in favour of the batsmen.

"With flat pitches and two news balls, the bowlers are going to find it difficult to contain runs. The batsmen are prepared to take more chances with field restrictions, because (by playing) in T20s, they have practiced a number of shots that are slightly risky. But if you go through with your shot and it clicks, that puts a lot of pressure on the bowling side.

"Also, I feel since the introduction of two new balls, the reverse-swing element is one factor that is missing in today's cricket.

We have not seen enough of reverse swing, and that has made a batsman's life easy, to score runs at a different pace altogether," said Tendulkar, before citing the example of Pakistan's ODI series defeat in England.

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"If you look at the last four one-dayers played in England, almost 350 runs were scored in virtually every game. So they (batsmen) are going at seven runs an over, which is making a bowler's life really difficult, but that is also because two new balls are being used and reverse swing is virtually non-existent," he explained.

The highest run-scorer in World Cup history concluded his analysis by replying to a frequently-asked question.

Which four teams will make it to the semifinals?

"India, England and Australia, with New Zealand or Pakistan the fourth team."