Mkhaya’s son gets batting tips from Tendulkar
MUMBAI: In a perfect finish to his cricket training in Mumbai, South Africa pace legend Mkhaya Ntini’s son, Thando Ntini, got the opportunity to pick the brains of none other than Sachin Tendulkar on his last day of the tour.
The 21-year-old Thando spent one month in Mumbai training under the guidance of respected coach Dinesh Lad.
“It was very good, very productive meeting with Mr Tendulkar. He spoke about everything from cricket to personal development...we had a good conversation. He told me about the importance of consistency, work ethics and preparation,” said Thando before boarding the flight to Durban.
The meeting with Tendulkar was organised by Chandras Manchekar, who was part of support staff of the South Africa Legends team, which included Mkhaya Ntini, during the 2021 Road Safety World Series T20 tournament.
“I told Tendulkar sir that Mkhaya has asked if you can give some tips on batting to Thando,” Manchekar said.
“Then Tendulkar started...we were just listening in a trance.
He spoke to him for almost an hour.”
Tendulkar told Thando about preparation: “If you hope to bat for three to four hours in a game, then should bat for the same amount of time in the nets. The more you do nets the better. If there is limit for batting, so one must continue with knocking by taking a partner, but the time spent batting must be the same.”
Tendulkar also explained the importance of acclimatisation by creating tough conditions the player will encounter.
A left-hand bat and right-arm fast bowler, Thando played in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup and represented Western Province and Kwa-zulu Natal (Dolphins) in South Africa’s domestic cricket. He has played 14 first-class games, scored 1,038 runs and taken 32 wickets. In 14 T20 games, he has 409 runs and claimed 16 wickets.