Legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar has no doubts regarding Ben Stokes will be able to lead England from the front as well during the opening Test against West Indies. Talking about England’s stand-in skipper, Sachin praised Stokes while previewing the three-Test series, which is scheduled to commence in Southampton on Wednesday, with West Indies legend Brian Lara on the online platform ‘100mb’.

Talking about the game, Tendulkar said, “He 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.”

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He further added, “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.” 

It is the first time Stokes will be leading the England team as he did not even captain his first-class team in his career.  Regular skipper Joe Root has opted out of the game to attend the birth of his second child.

Talking about the same, Tendulkar said, “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. 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.”

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On his part, Lara said, apart from the captaincy of Jason Holder, batting will hold the key for the Widnes against a fine England seam attack. He also reminded the likes of Shai Hope to take a cue from Tendulkar’s epic 241 at the SCG and few of his own knocks in English conditions.