In the most expected of buys at the IPL 2022 mega-auction, Mumbai Indians went after Arjun Tendulkar, son of the great batter and former MI skipper Sachin Tendulkar, for 30 lakh – that was, though, 10 lakh more than his base price.
Arjun Tendulkar’s name came up for auction in the last hour during the accelerated round. Mumbai were, expectedly, the first one to bid for Arjun at his base price of 20 lakh. However, both franchise owner Aakash Ambani and Director of Operations Zaheer Khan, seated at the table, were taken by surprise when the Gujarat Titans, one of the two new franchises, bid for junior Tendulkar at 25 lakh.
Aakash had a wry smile while looking at the Titans’ representatives in the auction room. He then bid 30 lakh for Arjun and the Titans, who though had a much smaller purse than MI, backed off, with Arjun’s deal sealed for Mumbai. There were some laughs shared between the Mumbai and Gujarat members in the auction room.
Arjun was with Mumbai Indians last season when they had snapped him up for his base price of 20 lakh. This time, however, the Gujarat Titans forced them to spend another 10 lakhs than the cricketer’s base price.
— Cricket fan (@Cricketfan093) February 14, 2022
Arjun didn’t get a chance to make his IPL debut last season for Rohit Sharma’s side. He has played two Syed Mushtaq Ali games last year for Mumbai domestic team, picking up 2 wickets and going at an expensive economy of 9.57.
A left-arm seam-bowling all-rounder, Arjun Tendulkar has also featured for the Marylebone Cricket Club Young Cricketers side in the Second Eleven Twenty20 tournament in Coggeshall, Essex.
The 22-year-old, who is yet to make his first-class debut, has also been included in Mumbai’s squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season and is likely to play his debut first-class game soon.
Mumbai made the most expensive buy of the IPL 2022 mega-auction: they re-bought Ishan Kishan for a whopping 15.25 crore. They have also acquired the services of speedster Jofra Archer, for 8 crore, however, Archer is unlikely to play this season. They have also roped in hard-hitting Tim David for 8.25 crore.
The IPL 2022 is likely to commence in the last week of March, and according to reports will be held in the stadiums of Mumbai and Pune.
