He shares a last name with possibly the best Indian cricket has ever produced.
Safe to say, Arjun Tendulkar has big shoes to fill.
With Sachin Tendulkar continuously asserting that his son, just 18, should be left alone by the media and not compared to his father, the left-arm quick still occasionally does enough on the Mumbai cricket circuit, and apparently in the nets, to make headlines.
1. Under-19 Selection
Arjun Tendulkar has been selected in the India U-19 squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. The speedster features in the squad for the two four-day games. Arjun performed well in the Cooch Behar Trophy, where he picked up 18 wickets for the Mumbai U-19 team.
2. Cooch Behar Success
While playing his debut season in Mumbai’s Under-19 team in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2017, Arjun had remained wicket-less in the first innings, returning with figures of 0-23, but came back strongly in the second innings to take five wickets and help Mumbai win the game against the Railways.
He got the first four batsmen of Railways and then the ninth wicket to complete his five-for.
Arjun had figures of 5/44 in 11 overs as Mumbai bundled out Railways for 136 to win the match by an innings and 103 runs.
3. Spotted at England’s Nets Session
One of the first times the cameras got a look at Arjun bowing at full pace was during the 2015 Ashes. Just 15 at the time, Arjun was spotted bowling at the English cricketers during a net’s session at Lord's.
It was reported that he attended the session at the request of his coach Neil Burns who later said, “Arjun bowled very nicely in the nets to the England team. He swung the ball in to the right handlers and away from the left handers. He has good control and bowled very well.”
4. Bairstow Scare
In July 2017, Arjun once again attended an English nets session at Lord’s ahead of their first Test against South Africa.
Daily Mail reported that one particular yorker of his, struck wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow on his toe and the English cricketer was forced to get immediate medical attention. Bairstow did not miss the match but Arjun had made his mark.
Bowled to Women’s Cricket Team
Arjun once again made an appearance at a nets session in 2017 when he helped the Indian women’s cricket team prepare for the Women’s World Cup Final. As seen in the video above, Arjun bowled at the likes of Veda Krishnamurthy.
(This article has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark Arjun Tendulkar’s selection in the India U-19 squad. This piece was first published on 20 December 2017.)
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