"Arjun [Tendulkar] has not led a normal childhood” – Sachin Tendulkar reacts to son’s maiden century on FC debut

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has finally reacted to his son Arjun’s maiden century on his first-class debut for Goa against Rajasthan in the ongoing Ranji Trophy on Wednesday, December 14.

The legendary batter said that Arjun didn't live a normal childhood as he was the son of a cricketer. He also recalled his advice to the media, i.e., to judge Arjun based solely on his performances and not overburden him with expectations.

Speaking to Infosys at 40, he said:

"Arjun has not led a normal childhood; being a son of a cricketer who has been for quite some time, it is not so easy and that is the only reason when I retired and was facilitated by the media in Mumbai, my message to them was: allow Arjun to fall in love with cricket, give him that opportunity."

He continued:

"You can follow up with various statements after he has performed. Don’t put pressure on him because I never had pressure from my parents.”

Sachin mentioned that, as a parent, he not only encouraged him but also informed him that he'll have to overcome the challenge of being his son.

“My parents gave me the freedom to go out and express myself, there was no pressure of expectations. It was only encouragement and support and how could we go and better ourselves and that is what I wanted him to do. I kept telling him that it's going to be challenging."

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Arjun Tendulkar joins Sachin Tendulkar on elite list

Arjun Tendulkar scored his maiden Ranji Trophy century to join his father, Sachin Tendulkar, on the elite list of cricketers who have scored a ton on their FC debut.

The left-hander scored 120 off 207 balls, including 16 boundaries and a couple of sixes. He also shared a 224-run partnership with Suyash Prabhudessai for the sixth wicket, as Goa declared at 547-9 in their first innings.

The left-arm pacer also picked up a couple of wickets as Rajasthan were 245-6 at stumps on Day 3.

It’s worth mentioning that Arjun has also been retained by Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction in Kochi on December 23. The five-time champions repurchased him for Rs 30 lakh. He will look to finally make his IPL debut in the upcoming edition of the T20 extravaganza.

MI current squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, and Akash Madhwal.

Purse remaining: INR 20.55 crore

Overseas slots remaining: Three