One of the greatest Indian cricketers of all time is Sachin Tendulkar. The Mumbai batsman took the world by storm during his long and illustrious cricketing career and created a legacy that will never be forgotten. It has been close to four years since Sachin announced his retirement but his son is showing all the prodigious talent that his father displayed back in the day. His son Arjun Tendulkar is working hard on improving his cricketing skills and so far he has impressed one and all.
Arjun Tendulkar is impressing everybody with his genetic and natural talent and has shown on many occasions that he can belong in the big stage if he continues his development. Here are a few situations where Arjun has impressed one and all:
Scored an impressive century in an U-16 match:
The Mumbai Under-16 cricket scene is known to be one of the breeding grounds for some of the greatest talents to have played the game. Sachin, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and a host of other cricketers have all made their mark at this stage during some point in their lives.
It seems that even Arjun is picking off right where these players left off with a scintillating 106 in an Under-16 match. He was playing for the Sunil Gavaskar XI versus Rohit Sharma’s XI in a match for the Mumbai Cricket Association U-16 Payyade Trophy. His knock comprised of nearly 50% of the team’s runs and showed that he has the ability to hit big knocks.
He made it to the Mumbai Under-16 squad:
The above performances were not unnoticed by those who matter in the upper echelons of Mumbai Cricket. The impression that Arjun formed in the minds of the selectors was one of a hardworking and talented cricketer and he was rewarded for that.
He was picked in the Mumbai Under-16 squad as an all-rounder as he can also bowl some decent left-arm seam. This innate talent of both batting and bowling fast makes him a rarity in the team and Arjun looks like he is on the path to success.
Arjun impressed the English batsmen:
One of the places where players dream of performing well is Lord’s, which is considered the Mecca of cricket. During an Ashes series a few years back, the English were practicing at the ground when Sachin put in a request to the English coach to allow his son to bowl at the nets.
The coach agreed and Arjun Tendulkar bowled a few left-arm seamers to the English batsmen. They were apparently very impressed with Arjun ability and even Wasim Akram admitted that his enthusiasm and spirit were in the right place. Akram also said that he was teaching the young Arjun a few tricks to help sharpen his left-arm pace skill.
One of the occasions, Arjun hit England’s wicketkeeper-batsman with a brilliant yorker. This news created a storm on social networking websites and Arjun was at the top of trending list.
Arjun Tendulkar bowled at 125-130:
For a player who is still physically developing at the age of 16-17, hitting speeds of close to 130 kmph is quite an achievement. That was apparently the speed that Arjun was clocking during a nets session with the Indian Women’s Team.
It is open knowledge that Arjun is a talented left-arm seamer and if he can consistently hit speeds of 125-130, it won’t be long before he can hit higher and develop into a genuine fast bowler.
Glenn McGrath called Arjun “as passionate as his father”
Former Australian cricketer and one of the best fast bowlers in the history of the game, Glenn McGrath observed Arjun’s game at the MRF Pace Academy and also at a camp organised by Maharashtra Cricket Associations in Mumbai. This is what he said:
“When you have a name like Tendulkar, those are pretty big shoes to fill. Whether he (Arjun) is looking to be a fast bowler more than a batsman (I don’t know),” he told India Today.
“We will wait and see. But if he has the love and passion for the game that Sachin had, he will be a winner,” McGrath said.
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Time will tell whether Arjun can make it to the Indian squad or the Ranji squad for that matter. At the moment, it is important that he is able to take it one day at a time and develop further before broadening his horizons.
By Rohit Nair
