"Most important factor to all format adaptability is backlift": Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin, crowned number two in the top cricketers of last 25 years during the Cricinfo Honours Awards 2026, highlighted the importance of backlift in a player's adaptability across formats.

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar said that for adapting across all the formats of the game, it is important for the batters to adjust their backlift as per the demands. Sachin, crowned number two in the top cricketers of last 25 years during the Cricinfo Honours Awards 2026, highlighted the importance of backlift in a player's adaptability across formats.

Sachin said that the game is evolving and people need to accept it 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. 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 added as per a press release.

Sachin also said that in Tests, a player will have to defend the ball, and as long as they defend properly against quality pace on the front foot, they will be successful at any level, especially in Tests. On his side's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 triumph at home, Sachin said that one thing that stood out was the team was told not to take any kind of pressure and stress as they flew across the country.

"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. So, we had a lot of meetings and discussions about how to channelise pressure and direct it in the right way," he said. "The direction of pressure is really important. If it's sitting on your shoulder and pushing you down, you are 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," he added.

In India's title-winning campaign, Sachin scored 482 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.55 and a strike rate of 91.98, with two centuries and two fifties. He was the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, next to Tilakratne Dilshan (500 runs in nine innings). (ANI)