ICC U19 World Cup 2020: Being foul-mouthed isn’t aggression, says Sachin Tendulkar
The ICC U19 World Cup 2020 final saw some unnecessary aggression between India and Bangladesh, and five players - Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi (from India), and Bangladesh’s Md Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, and Rakibul Hasan, were reprimanded by the ICC for breaching the code of conduct.
Cricket has always been a gentleman's game and Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar believes that aggression is needed to be present in the body language and intent and is something not to displayed by swearing at the opposition.
“One can only make an effort to teach individuals, but then a lot depends on the character of an individual. In a crunch moment, one should be able to control certain things and not forget that the whole world is looking up to you. They are following certain things," Tendulkar was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
"So, I think those are the moments where controlled aggression helps. One needs to be aggressive but being vocal and saying foul things doesn’t mean that you are aggressive,” he further added.
Tendulkar spoke about different sporting legends like Roger Federer and asked youngsters to observe their body language and approach towards their game. If the intent is right, then there is no need for being foul-mouthed and crossing the line.
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Tendulkar himself had always played in the spirit of the game and whenever he was wrongly given out, he used to walk off accepting the decision. Ambassadors like him can be great examples for the cricketing fraternity to emulate.
"“Everyone is aggressive. If somebody doesn’t say anything or if somebody doesn’t do anything it doesn’t mean that he is not aggressive. We all want to go out and win. There is a method to do that. You can’t cross the line. Like me the rest of the guys also want to win and those are the things one should keep in mind," Tendulkar stated.
"Are you trying to be tell me that Roger Federer is not aggressive? That he doesn’t want to win? He wants to win every point But the body language, what he says and the mannerism really matters. That is really setting example,” he concluded.