Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar has advised India Test skipper Shubman Gill to focus on his own planning without thinking about opinions outside the dressing room. The legendary batsman said Gill should be given adequate “time and support” to succeed as he leads India through a tough transition phase.

“There are going to be a lot of opinions that ‘he should do this and he should do that’, but he should focus on the team’s plan and if things are going accordingly. Eventually, what happens in the dressing room and what he is doing in the interest of the team will matter,” said Tendulkar.

Having played five Test series in England between 1990 and 2011, Tendulkar feels that batsmen should have the flexibility to tweak their game as per conditions. “You need to respect the conditions and bat accordingly. When you do that, you have that flexibility in your thought process, in your head. It cannot be one-way traffic that ‘my game is like this and I am going to play like this only’,” he said.

Tendulkar said his message to the team was to respect the conditions and determine when to attack and when to defend. He said that although Karun Nair and B Sai Sudharsan have not played a Test match in England, India can count on them to deliver the goods because they have been playing county cricket here. “They have been exposed to these conditions. They have played in England, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. You put those experiences together and put them to practice,” he added.

Tendulkar advised that India should go for two specialist spinners only if the surface is on the drier side. “The temptation to play two spinners would only be if there is not enough grass on the surface and we have sunny conditions,” he said.

Tendulkar reassured Pataudis after trophy was renamed

Tendulkar said he had reached out to the family of former Indian captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as soon as he came to know that the India-England Test series trophy was being renamed. He assured the Pataudis that he would do everything to keep the legacy of Tiger Pataudi and his father alive.

The Pataudi trophy has now been replaced by the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, a decision that was jointly taken by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the BCCI.

“When I got to know about the trophy being named after me and Anderson, my first phone call was to the Pataudi family. “Tiger Pataudi played a huge role in inspiring many generations and that should be never forgotten. So I’m glad that the Pataudi name will continue to be attached to the series as it has been decided to present a newly-instituted ‘Pataudi Medal for Excellence’ to the winning captain,” said Tendulkar.