The resumption of international cricket post-COVID-19 hiatus will witness hosts England taking on West Indies from July 7 onwards at Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
In the absence of Joe Root, marquee all-rounder Ben Stokes is slated to take over the captaincy, thereby becoming the 81st player to captain England in Tests.
Now, former Indian great Sachin Tendulkar has dispensed his opinion on the newly-appointed England captain.
“He (Stokes) is someone who is going to lead from the front, we have seen that on a number of occasions. He is aggressive, positive and when he has to be slightly defensive he is prepared to do that for the team,” Tendulkar told Brian Lara on 100mb app.
“I always feel controlled aggression produces results and so far whatever I have seen, the aggression has been there but it is controlled. So this is what I think of Ben Stokes,” he added.
The summer of 2019 was the watershed moment in Stokes’ career thus far, were his knock of 84* against New Zealand in the final of the 2019 World Cup was instrumental in England’s triumph.
Following his herculean effort, Stokes played one of the most heroic knocks in Test cricket against Australia in Headingley. He slammed an unbeaten 135 in the fourth innings to take his side home.
“For Ben Stokes from what he has been through in the recent past to where he is today it is a total transformation and it can happen only to someone who is mentally strong. When I first looked at him a few years ago, I could see his body language it was so positive and vibrant and that energy is infectious,” Sachin reckoned.
“I felt that he was one of those players where in time to come you look back and say Ben Stokes, (Andrew) Flintoff, Ian Botham these are the leading all-rounders who played for England. I really rate him highly and his impact on the field is a major one. You don’t necessarily have to dominate each bowler. If you are batting on 70-80 and somebody is giving you trouble you back off,” he concluded.
