Arjun Tendulkar picks a wicket on debut as Mumbai’s woes continue

Left-arm pacer and son of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, Arjun Tendulkar, made his Mumbai debut against Haryana in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. Haryana defeated a weary Mumbai by eight wickets at the suburban BKC ground.

Fun fact, Sachin Tendulkar’s last domestic game was against Haryana in 2013 and eight years later his son – Arjun, 21,– makes his debut against the same state. The Elite Group E clash between Mumbai and Haryana added to Suryakumar Yadav’s worries after all the star players in his side – Aditya Tare, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube – failed to click and the team endured another loss. However, the match topped the headlines for it marked Arjun Tendulkar’s senior team debut as a left-arm pacer.

The much Arjun had an off day with the ball as he returned with rather unimpressive figures of 1/34 in the three overs that he bowled, the match also marked his first wicket at this level. He dismissed Haryana opener Chaitya Bishnoi (4) cheaply after he edged a delivery to wicket-keeper Aditya Tare.

Batting first, Mumbai scored a below par 143 runs as they were bundled out in 19.3 overs. Even after earning name as a bowling all-rounder in club cricket, Tendulkar didn’t face a single delivery as he came in at No 11. Haryana – powered by Himanshu Rana’s blazing unbeaten 75 off 53 balls – chased the target in 17.4 overs.

Tendulkar junior was added to the Mumbai squad, along with another pacer Krutik Hanagavadi, by the Salil Ankola-led selection committee, 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, which plays invitational tournaments. The budding pacer has been seen bowling to the Indian national team in the nets and also represented the India U-19 team, when it toured Sri Lanka in 2018.