'He reminds me of me' - Sachin Tendulkar heaps praise on Marnus Labuschagne

Legendary Sachin Tendulkar has paid the ultimate compliment to Marnus Labuschagne, saying that the Australia batsman reminds him of himself. Labuschagne has not looked back since getting a chance in Australia’s Test team during last year’s Ashes. While Labuschagne made his Test debut in 2018, he finally proved his worth in the Ashes after getting a chance when Steve Smith suffered a concussion.

Four fifties on the trot in England made it pretty much clear that the right-handed batsman was a special talent. He further enhanced his reputation with a stunning display at home against Pakistan and New Zealand. The youngster completely overshadowed his illustrious teammate Steve Smith to emerge Australia’s best performer in the Test season.

During the home season which had five Tests, the Test star piled up a staggering 896 runs with the help of 4 tons including a career-best 215 as Australia won all the games. Those performances also helped him break into Australia’s ODI team for the tour of India where he impressed in white-ball cricket too. In the two innings that he batted, he played knocks of 46 and 54.

Sachin Tendulkar lavishes praise on Marnus Labuschagne

With Marnus Labuschagne going from strength to strength since the Ashes, Sachin Tendulkar lavished praised on the youngster. The former India batsman called Labuschagne’s footwork incredible before stating that the Aussie reminds him of himself.

“His footwork was incredible, so he would be the one I would say,” Tendulkar replied at the SCG on Friday, when asked whether any modern-day player reminds him of himself.

“I saw Marnus getting hit (on the helmet by) the second ball he faced from Jofra Archer and post that, the 15 minutes he batted I said ‘this player looks special, there is something about him’. His footwork was precise and footwork is not 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,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.

Tendulkar is currently in Australia for the upcoming Bushfire Cricket Bash, a charity match that will take place this week. Tendulkar will not take the field as a player and will instead coach the team led by Ricky Ponting.

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