Sachin Tendulker was all in praise for the ICC Emerging Player of the Year, Marnus Labuschagne here at the SCG on Friday. Tendulkar said the batsman reminded the legend of his own batting style. Marnus has been a relevation in Test Cricket since his debut in October 2018 the right-hander has surged to 3rd in the Test Rankings after the modern day greats Virat Kohli and Steven Smith.
Tendulkar who is the all-time leading run scorer in Test and ODI Cricket with 100 centuries on his name talked how he observed Marnus in the Ashes at Lords.
The legend said, ” I happened to be watching the second Test match (Ashes) at Lord’s between England and Australia. When Steve Smith got injured, I saw Labuschagne’s second innings,” said Tendulkar. “I was sitting with my father-in-law. I saw Marnus get hit off the second ball from Jofra Archer and, post that, the 15 minutes he batted, I said, This player looks special’. There is something about him.
“Footwork is not physical, it’s mental. If you’re not thinking positively in your mind, then your feet don’t move. That clearly indicated to me that this guy is mentally strong because if you’re not, your feet will not move. His footwork was incredible.”
With such observation and prediction from the legend one can easily say that Marnus Labuschagne will be the big thing to watch in International Cricket over the next good five years. He had already talked about emulating the likes of Kohli and Smith and is on his way already.