Sachin Tendulkar's 14-a-side idea to be implemented for inter-school finals

In 2013, when Sachin retired from international cricket, he had suggested an exciting new format of 15-player-a-side. He advised that the inter-schools and inter-college tournaments should implement this format, where 11 players will take the field, but the four players on the bench will get a chance to bat or bowl upon the captain’s discretion. Sachin believes that the format provides a lot more chances to the budding cricketers.

Then, the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) had decided to implement this rule in the famous Harris and Giles Shield last season in the opening knock-out rounds. Now, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will implement this rule till the Elite finals of the prestigious tournament.

"I'm happy that more children will get the opportunity to play. The idea is to engage as many children to play sport and leading a healthy life," Tendulkar told TOI on Wednesday.

Speaking about the implementation, Mumbai Schools Sports Association secretary Nadeem Memon, who happened to be a huge Sachin fan, said, "Sachin's idea was appreciated by all the schools, coaches, players and their parents, because everybody is now getting a chance to play, especially the bowlers. They wanted to continue it further and because of that 84 more players could play in the Harris Shield. The idea gives coaches a lot of options, because it means that 11 good batsmen and bowlers can play out of 14 players in a side. You can nominate 14 players while going out for the toss, and pick the 11 best batsmen and bowlers from that 14," he added.

The Harris Shield will kick off this season on November 2.