Ind vs Eng Test series | 'They can write a nice, new chapter in Indian cricket': Sachin Tendulkar on Team India

India skipper Shubman Gill (second from left) has a laugh with teammates Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant (right) as Karun Nair (left) looks on in Leeds on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images

India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is extremely confident of Shubman Gill's new Team India faring well against England in the highly anticipated five-Test series that gets underway with the first match at Leeds on Friday. The confidence is almost comparable to when he took guard, 23 summers ago, to score a smashing 193 in India's innings and 46 runs victory over Nasser Hussain's England at the same Headingley ground where Gill's side will take on Ben Stokes & Co.

Buoyed by this confidence, in an interview with mid-day, Tendulkar firmly disagrees with expert opinions that this bunch of Indian players lack experience. He also stresses on how Indian teams have, in the past, successfully churned out new generations.

He claims this series is "pretty special" to him as his surname and that of England's legendary pacer James Anderson will jointly form the competition's ultimate prize, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He is also pleased to explain how he initiated the Pataudi Medal, given the Pataudi Trophy has been retired.

Edited excerpts from the interview

On Team India's lack of experience
We have enough experience. If you look at the top order, Yashasvi [Jaiswal] has just started, but he has scored runs. KL Rahul is an experienced campaigner. Shubman has been around for a while. Sai Sudharsan, whatever I have seen of him, he has looked good. Karun [Nair] has experienced success at the Test level. Then there's Rishabh [Pant] and of course [Ravindra] Jadeja is the most experienced member of this team. Among the bowlers, there is [Jasprit] Bumrah, [Mohammed] Siraj, these guys have been around for a reasonable amount of time. It all boils down to how they use this to their advantage. This team is talented and have the firepower to do well.

Sachin Tendulkar

On the tough conditions in England
The conditions are different wherever you go. If you go to South Africa or New Zealand, the conditions will be tough there too. Earlier generations have also travelled to different parts of the world. Every nation goes through this transition. There was a period when Sourav [Ganguly] retired, Anil [Kumble] retired, then Rahul [Dravid], [VVS] Laxman, myself, [Virender] Sehwag, Yuvraj [Singh]. Then the next generation came and did well. So it will continue to churn like this. This is the current generation's opportunity to do something special.

On Shubman Gill as a leader
It's a new phase in his life. He looked comfortable when I saw him in the IPL [leading Gujarat Titans]. Under his leadership, this is a great opportunity for this team. They can write a nice, new chapter in Indian cricket, which people, years down the line, will remember. It will be nice to look back and say, ‘this was a good phase of Indian cricket.'

On Jasprit Bumrah's workload management
Everyone is talking about Bumrah, but only he will understand how his body is coping with the pressures of Test cricket, where you have to turn up every morning and give 100 per cent. You have to be prepared to bowl multiple spells. In the shorter format, your body responds differently. The player, the team management, captain and masseurs will look at aspects like pitch, conditions and then take a decision on this.

On the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
It [Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy] feels nice given our contributions for our respective nations, so I'm happy about it. But my first phone call, on learning that ECB and BCCI are deciding to retire the Pataudi Trophy, was to the Pataudi family. I assured them I would do everything possible to keep the great man's legacy alive. I told them I would come back to them on this. Then, I spoke to Jay Shah [ICC chief], BCCI and ECB and shared a few ideas. We followed it up with the Pataudi family and they graciously agreed on the introduction of the Pataudi Medal of Excellence. Pataudi was known for his leadership, so this is a good match because the winning captain will get this medal. I don't know what people have said [some former players have expressed their unhappiness about retiring the Pataudi Trophy], but they are just opinions without first-hand information of what has transpired [behind the scenes]. I feel something positive has happened and I'm lucky to do this as an India player because I have always respected my seniors.