Mumbai: Tendulkar is back on the cricket scoreboard after a gap of close to seven years. No we are not talking about the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. It is his son Arjun Tendulkar who made his debut Friday for the Mumbai senior team. The budding fast bowler took the field for Mumbai in an Elite League group match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Haryana here. Arjun Tendulkar, however, has been selected for his bowling prowess, not batting.
The match is being played at the suburban BKC ground and Mumbai, after winning the toss, are batting first. The 21-year-old Arjun now qualifies for the IPL auctions, as he has made his debut for the Mumbai state team.
Tendulkar (Jr) was added to the Mumbai squad, along with another pacer Krutik Hanagavadi, by the Salil Ankola-led selection committee. This happened after the BCCI permitted a total of 22 players to be selected. Over the years, Arjun has been playing age-group tournaments for Mumbai and has also been a part of the team, that plays invitational tournaments.
The budding pacer had earlier bowled at the nets to the Indian team. He also represented the India U-19 team, when they toured Sri Lanka in 2018.
It was not known whether Sachin was at the ground to see his son’s debut. The world’s highest run-getter in the past has said that he doesn’t want to put unnecessary pressure on his son. So he generally stays away from the matches his son plays in.