Sachin Tendulkar backs David Warner, calls for change in pitches not bat sizes

London, July 12: Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has backed Australian opener David Warner in suggesting that pitches needed to be changed in order to bring balance between bat and ball rather than reducing the size of the bats.

Warner defedns bat sizes

Recently, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting had raised concerns over the big bats. He had called for limiting the bat sizes.

"I don't know how they are doing it to make the size of bats they are making now. The modern day bats and weight in particular - it's just a completely different game. Full credit to them. If they are there use them, if there's a better golf club or tennis racquet everyone will use it. It's nothing against the players," Ponting had said.

"If you are strong enough to use them that's fine, but you should not get a bat that's bigger in size than (MS) Dhoni's but a whole lot lighter. Chris Gayle's the same. Everyone talks about Chris Gayle's bat size, but it's 3½ lbs. He's big enough and strong enough to use it. I only get worried when they are really big and really light," he added.

When Warner was asked about Ponting's comments, the left-hander defended the size of his bat, which has thick edges.

"If we look around the country, I think the wickets are pretty much dictating. A lot of batsmen are scoring a lot of runs, there have been a lot of runs scored in the last 12 to 18 months; you can't specifically come out and say it is the big bats, because everyone around the country and around the world is scoring a lot of runs. In my mind it is a credit to the bat maker," Warner had reacted.

Today (July 12) in London, Tendulkar was asked about his opinion about reducing bat sizes as suggested by Ponting. Both Tendulkar and Ponting, modern-day greats, played together for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and were also part of the coaching staff.

"The size of the bats that I played with and now are different. It is all about developing equipment. Bats have certainly developed a lot. Ball is one area where not many changes have taken place. But above all, I think the wickets need to change. The wickets need to be more helpful for the bowlers. Because I see in the Twenty20 format greatest of the bowlers being reverse-swept. In one-days, 300 is no more a competitive total. It is a par total.

"I think there should in one format in cricket where bowlers have a better chance of executing their skills. It becomes more interesting for spectators. You got to look at changing the surfaces. I don't think it has got much too do with the bat. I am sure there are guys on the panel (in ICC) who will look into it in more detail than what I have been able to do in the last 30 seconds that you asked me. Overall, wickets need to change and that is what David Warner reiterated," said Tendulkar at Spartan Sports International launch event where he associated with them.

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