Tendulkar's batting style has been compared to that of Sir Donald Bradman.
Tendulkar is ambidextrous: He bats, bowls, and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand. He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He is strong in hitting the ball to all parts of the field with a large variety of shots, although columnist Bal believes that Tendulkar's back-foot punch is his signature shot. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in the Caribbean Islands and Western Australia too. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square, a shot which has given him a lot of runs in form of boundaries.
Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "[Sir Donald Bradman] was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at [Tendulkar], having felt that Tendulkar played like him. [Bradman's wife], Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar. "
Former Australian cricket team coach John Buchanan voiced his opinion that Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. Buchanan also believes Tendulkar has a weakness while playing left-arm pace. Since 2004 when he was first affected by a series of injuries, Tendulkar's batting has tended to be less attacking. Explaining this change in his batting style, he has acknowledged that he is batting differently due to that fact that (1) No batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and (2) He is a senior member of the team now and thus has more responsibility. However, it cannot be denied that his batting became less attractive since 2004 and while a string of his highest scores have come within this time period, the consistency has been lacking. The early part of his career he was a more attacking batsman and frequently scored centuries at over a run a ball. Ian Chappell, former Australian player, believes "Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke". During the latest tour of Australia in 2008, Tendulkar displayed glimpses of his attacking style with several masterful innings.
While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he is adept at bowling medium pace, leg spin, and off spin with equal ease. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, and he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion.
