Sachin Tendulkar has SOS-ed an old clubmate for an additional complement of "seasoned' lighter bats for the World Cup.

Tendulkar usually carries a quiver of 8-10 bats in his "coffin". That is enough to last the joust on hand. But there are occasions when he places an indent for more bats. This is one of those. Since the bats cannot be stroked in a hurry on tour, they are rendered ready to use and sent to him.

The call for ready-to-use lighter bats was received (and complied with) by Satish Samant, coach of Mumbai's under-17 team, who also has the distinction of having made 310 runs in a 45-over match. Samant seasoned the bats along with Atul Ranade, Sachin's childhood pal.

Four new lightweight bats have already been dispatched to Tendulkar, and a couple of more bats will be rushed once they are 'stroked' by Ranade and Samant, a colleague of Sachin's brother, Ajit, at Air-India. The Tendulkars and Samant are all members of the same club.

Tendulkar's SOS for lighter bats has set cricket circles abuzz because Tendulkar is renowned for his heavy English Willows. But informed sources say he began using bats of slightly lesser weight on the New Zealand tour on the advice of doctors concerned about his back problem.

Why the lighter bats for South Africa? Because the pitches are fast and Tendulkar will need them to play horizontal bat shots. The difference in weight, though, is imperceptible. The bats Tendulkar used earlier weighed 1,300 grams. The new bats weigh 50 grams less.

In the heavy bats he used earlier, the bottom is thicker because it helps strokeplay on low-bounce tracks. In the lighter bats, the "meat" is thicker to budget in the extra bounce and pace.

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What do you think about the story? Read what others have to say: Number of User Comments: 13 Sub: Lighter Bats Hi, This is something that he should have done a lot earlier, It makes cricket sense to use lighter bats on bouncy tracks so as ... Posted by Ravi Sub: Best of Luck !!! Hi Sachin Choosing lighter bat is good option when playing on fast and bouncy pitches like South Africa.I think that you have taken right decision ... Posted by Rohit Sub: Good Luck This is the time to show the world that how good you are. Posted by Rahul Sub: Leave the bat,he is the BEST Sachin, Whether you use a heavy bat or a light bat,you still are the best.Remember there is no bigger venue than the World Cup for ... Posted by Varun Mathew Vallakalil Sub: it depends upon the teams suppose you are playing match against austrialia u prefer medium type bat that is very useful any other depends upon the rate of speed of ... Posted by shajahan