Overview:
Imitating Sachin Tendulkar also brings certain limitations. At times, attempting to follow his methods can work against Supresh.
Spend a few minutes on Instagram reels as a cricket fan and you’re likely to stumble upon a young batter mirroring Sachin Tendulkar almost frame for frame. From the unmistakable MRF branding on the bat to the stance, backlift, trigger movements and even the feather-light pads, the resemblance is uncanny. Many have carried the Tendulkar tag before, but this one feels closer than most.
Supresh Mugade, a 21-year-old young batter from Mumbai, has turned into an Instagram talking point for how closely his batting mirrors Sachin Tendulkar. Instead of developing his own method, Supresh made a conscious choice early on to model his game almost entirely on Tendulkar’s technique. He was only nine when Tendulkar called time on his international career, but the influence runs deep, shaped largely by his father Prakash, a devoted admirer of the batting icon.
“I started playing cricket at the age of six. In the beginning, it was just with my father, not at an academy or formal training sessions. For nearly four years, my practice was only with him near Venus Academy. He was initially concerned about me getting hurt by the ball. After spending about a year using a softball, I eventually moved on to playing with a leather ball,” Supresh told The Hindustan Times.
“My father has always been a massive admirer of Sachin Tendulkar, even though he never played the game himself. Cricket has always been his passion. Copying Sachin’s style wasn’t simple. I initially had my own stance, but my father kept telling me that if I was going to play cricket, I should follow Sachin’s method and mirror him. From the bat tap to the smile, he felt Sachin’s technique was perfect, and he passed all of that on to me.”
Imitating Sachin Tendulkar also brings certain limitations. At times, attempting to follow his methods can work against Supresh, as situations that felt effortless for Tendulkar are rarely so for most players. A clear example is Tendulkar’s ease against Wasim Akram, a bowler who troubled almost every batter of his era and is widely regarded as one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers in cricket history.
“I do end up arguing with my father because I make mistakes. When runs don’t come, I question why I’m trying so hard to copy Sachin. Even then, my father keeps pushing me to stick with it. It’s been a deliberate process. Apart from using similar gear, it took me nearly two years to start looking close to him while batting. I make a conscious effort to replicate everything he did at the crease,” Supresh said.