Arjun Tendulkar

The burden of the surname is always going to play a part in his career, but going forward Arjun Tendulkar has to accept the fact that nothing can be done about that. Arjun is a bright young talent, and ever since being picked by the Mumbai Indians in the Mini Auction for IPL 2021, he has been under immense pressure as criticism has flown in from several quarters at his inclusion in the squad. The Mumbai Indians team management made it pretty clear that Arjun was picked on the basis of his talent and not his surname.

Arjun's journey in professional cricket has been a steady climb. His love for the sport was evident from a young age, leading him to professional coaching in 2008. He showcased his skills as a left-arm pacer and a lower middle-order batter in his first professional game at a U-13 tournament in 2010.

In November 2011, the young Tendulkar stole the limelight during a school game when he finished with figures of 8/22 while playing for his school, Dhirubhai International Public School.

He smashed his maiden professional century in 2013 for the Khar Gymkhana in a U-14 match. It was in July 2018 that Arjun received his maiden international call-up when he was picked in the Indian U-19 squad for the youth Test series against Sri Lanka. He made an immediate impact and bagged the wicket of Kamil Mishara to start off his international youth career with a bang.

Arjun was then drafted into the Mumbai squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2020-21 against Haryana and played two matches in the tournament. He picked a wicket each in those two matches but was not that impressive with the bat.

Arjun, known for his powerful hits, has the potential to be a game-changer. While he hasn't yet made a significant impact in high-stakes matches, his ability to hit the long ball is a valuable asset to any team.

Over the years he has got the exposure of bowling to the England national team in the nets in England and has also been a net bowler for India on quite a few occasions. 

In a strategic move to secure more playing time, Arjun switched teams from Mumbai to Goa in 2022. This decision proved fruitful as he made a strong impression in the 2022-23 domestic season with Goa, scoring his First-Class century and taking wickets. Despite his unchanged role with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2022 auction, his actual debut was delayed until the following year.

He had a promising IPL debut season with Mumbai Indians in 2023, starting economically. The left-armer faced criticism after a poor outing against Punjab Kings. However, he bounced back with a better performance. He also showed promise with Goa in domestic cricket, even grabbing his career-best bowling figures of 4/49 in the Ranji Trophy 2024 versus Gujarat.

(As of March 2024)