Legendary India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has revealed a fascinating aspect about both a young cricketer’s life and fatherhood with an example of his own son, Arjun.
Arjun, a budding seam-bowling all-rounder, has been picked in Mumbai’s squad for the Ranji Trophy 2022. At the weekend, IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, who Tendulkar had captained, brought Arjun for 30 lakh at the mega-auction.
Speaking on Graham Bensinger’s YouTube show, Sachin Tendulkar revealed that he hardly goes and watches Arjun play – but whenever he does, he doesn’t let him know nor his coach. Sachin recalled that even he didn’t like when his family came to see him as he felt extra pressure on that. He doesn’t want Arjun to feel any extra pressure of his presence at the ground.
Sachin Tendulkar said, “Fathers and mothers, when they watch their children play, they get stressed. That’s why I don’t go and watch Arjun because I want him to have that freedom to fall in love with cricket and be focussed on what he wants to do.”
“Neither of us forced him to start cricket. Arjun was actually into football and then he played chess. He loved playing chess. And cricket happened later in his life. If you yourself have chosen something in your life, you’ll go that extra yard to make sure that ‘I’m gonna give my best, or if it requires certain sacrifices, I’m prepared to do that’ and that is what I wanted Arjun to do.
“He should not be living my dream, he should be living and chasing his dream. I don’t go and watch him play. He has to stay focussed on his game like I didn’t like anyone watching me. Even if I go and watch his games, I’m hiding somewhere, he doesn’t know that I’m there, nobody knows, neither does his coach or anyone,” he added.
Arjun played two Syed Mushtaq Ali games last year for Mumbai, picking up 2 wickets and going at an expensive economy of 9.57. He has also featured for the Marylebone Cricket Club Young Cricketers side in the Second Eleven Twenty20 tournament in Coggeshall, Essex. The 22-year-old is likely to make his first-class debut this season.
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