4 most-popular Father-Son duo(trio)s who have played cricket for India

In what is some really exciting news for Indian cricket fans all over the world, our very own "Little Master" Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar, has been named in the India U-19 cricket team for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka next month. The 18-year-old pace-bowling all-rounder has been picked for the four-day matches that India will play against the island nation.

This piece of news means that it couldn't be far away for Arjun, already touted to be a rising superstar, to find a place into the Indian National team, and thereby follow the footsteps of his great father.

At this point of time, let us take a look into a few other father-son duos that have played cricket for India.

Mohinder Amarnath

#1 Lala Amarnath and sons Surinder and Mohinder

In 1933, India played their first Test match on home soil at the Bombay Gymkhana. The match was a historic one for both the country as well as for batsman Nanik ‘Lala’ Amarnath, who, on debut, scored the first Test century by an Indian. He took the famed English attack to task, bringing up his century in 117 minutes.

Lala was dynamic with both bat and bowl and could even keep wickets. He would go on to have an influential career and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian cricket.

Lala

Amarnnath

Lala’s elder son, Surinder, would emulate his father by also scoring a century on test debut. However, his other son, Mohinder, would have a greater career.

Mohinder would play 69 test matches over an 18 year old career. Known as the comeback man of Indian cricket, Mohinder was one of India’s best performers against the hostile fast bowling of Pakistan and West Indies.

Sanjay Manjrekar

#2 Vijay and Sanjay Manjrekar

Vijay Manjrekar was one of the mainstays of the Indian team in the 1950s and 60s. In 55 test matches, he garnered 3208 runs at an average of 39.12. He also scored 7 Test centuries.

Vijay Manjrekar

His son, Sanjay, played 37 test matches in the 80s and 90s. Like his father, he too was a middle-order batsman. His numbers read a respectable 2043 runs at 37.14 with 4 centuries. After retiring from cricket as a player, Sanjay is often seen as a commentator and an analyst and continues to be a part of the game.

Master Blaster

#3. Sunil Gavaskar and Rohan Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar is quite simply, one of the greatest cricketers the world has ever seen. He burst into the Indian team in 1971 as a terrific opening batsman. For the next 16 years, he remained an ever-present figure, scoring mountains of runs.

He was the first man to 10,000 Test runs and broke Don Bradman’s record for the highest number of Test centuries. At the time of his retirement, Sunil held the record for the maximum runs scored in Test cricket (10,122) and the maximum number of centuries (34), both of which were eventually broken by Sachin Tendulkar.

Rohan Gavaskar

Sunil’s son Rohan, played 11 ODIs for India in 2004, after which he never returned to the squad. Unlike his father, he was a middle-order batsman and a useful left-arm spinner, but the expanse of talent in the Indian squad by that time made him retreat to the sidelines. Needless to say, Rohan will have to, rather harshly, bear the mark of being the not-so-famous son of a famous father.

Roger Binny celebrating a wicket

#4 Roger Binny and Stuart Binny

This one will be familiar to most Indian cricket fans. Roger Binny played 27 Test matches and 72 ODIs for India, mostly during the 80s. He was the highest wicket-taker in the 1983 World Cup and also played a key role in the 1985 Benson and Hedges Cup win.

A versatile all-rounder, Binny batted in the lower order and bowled medium fast. His son, Stuart, has played sporadically for India over the last few seasons. Like his father, he too is a middle-order batsman and a medium-fast bowler.

Stuart Binny in action

Stuart is yet to match the achievements of his illustrious father, although he still has time on his side. So far, he is best remembered for the epic encounter against Bangladesh in 2014 wherein he bowled an outstanding spell of 4.4-2-4-6, making it the best bowling efforts by an Indian bowler in ODIs. Chasing a mere 105, Bangladesh fell cheaply for a paltry 58 thanks to junior Binny's heroics, giving India a memorable win.