T20 World Cup: Appreciation and confidence have made Suryakumar Yadav more consistent, says Sachin Tendulkar

In a chat with TOI, India legend Sachin Tendulkar picks the four semi-finalists in the 2022 T20 WC Down Under and traces the evolution of the T20 game and predicts that the cooler conditions in October and November may see teams opting for a safety first approach in powerplayA cricket World Cup in Australia, be it in any format, cannot be consumed without talking to the man who made Australia and Australians fall in love with his batting feats Down Under. Sachin Tendulkar, like many, is looking forward to the T20 World Cup and judging by his 'Namibia has told the cricketing world today, "Nam" Yaad Rakhna' tweet to describe the African nation's upset victory over Sri Lanka in Geelong on Sunday, he is keeping a close watch on proceedings.

Tendulkar may have played only one T20I, but he was the backbone for Mumbai Indians from 2008 to 2013 and set scoring charts ablaze with innovative strokeplay. Having seen the T20 game evolve from 2008 onwards, Tendulkar is in awe at some of the shots the players attempt in the nets almost immediately. Tracing the evolution of T20s, Tendulkar comments, "There are different kind of shots that players practise even in the nets these days. We used to practise them occasionally. But today the kind of shots these guys practise…." A compulsive thinker and a cerebral cricketer, Tendulkar enjoys the different fielding positions captains employ in T20s. "Positions like short third man have become crucial. Earlier, players were still figuring out positions like these." Having seen two days of action from Australia where wickets are usually hard and bouncy, Tendulkar opines that cricket is not usually played in Australia in the months of October and early November and that could have a bearing on