After spending the past two seasons on the bench, Arjun Tendulkar got his chance to make his MI debut on Sunday, against KKR at MI’s home ground, Wankhede Stadium.
Arjun Tendulkar received his IPL debut cap from Rohit Sharma
With this debut for the 23-year-old pacer, Arjun and Sachin Tendulkar became the first father-son pair to have played in the IPL.
Arjun Tendulkar domestic cricket record and stats:
He has a good record in domestic cricket: 12 wickets in 7 first-class matches; 8 wickets in 7 List-A matches; 10 wickets in 7 SMAT 2023 T20 matches. Like his father, Sachin, Arjun also hit a century on his Ranji Trophy debut last year.
Former Indian bowler Sreesanth impressed with Arjun Tendulkar
Former India speedster S Sreesanth, who is working with Star Sports for the IPL 2023, was happy to see Tendulkar make his debut.
The left-arm seamer bowled with the new ball against KKR openers. His first over cost only 5 runs (4 off the bat) while in his second over, Venkatesh Iyer took him for a six and four. He showed promising signs with his inswing and outswing and his tall figure helped him get some bounce on the ball.
Arjun recorded figures of 0/17 in 2 overs in his first match. He was not called up to bowl later in the match.
Former Speedster said he would have been even more happier had Arjun picked up a wicket on his IPL debut.
“I was the happiest person when I saw him on the ground. It’s so good to see a legend’s son and it isn’t easy for a player from a legendary family, but he came out with flying colours,” Former Speedster told Star Sports.
“And I feel he played exceptionally well for his first game. I would have loved to see him get a wicket and go about things. But I am very confident that having a father like Sachin Paaji will help him come good,” he added.
Venkatesh Iyer’s century helped KKR to a total of 185, which, Mumbai Indians chased down with 5 wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare. Ishan Kishan spanked a belligerent half-century while Suryakumar Yadav scored 43 runs off 25 balls, announcing his comeback to form. Tilak Varma, Rohit Sharma, and Tim David played handsome camoes as MI recorded their second straight win.