"I have seen him grow over the years" - When Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Arjun Tendulkar

Being the son of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, there's always extra pressure on Arjun when he steps on to the cricket field. Every time he gets picked by Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League auction even as more established names go unsold, a number of eyebrows are raised. As such, being Arjun Tendulkar isn't easy at all.

Having been part of the Mumbai Indians squad in the IPL for a few seasons, Arjun was handed his debut in the 2023 season. The left-arm seamer played four matches, claiming three wickets at an average of 30.66 and an economy rate of 9.35. Arjun picked up his first IPL wicket against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal.

The pacer bowled the last over of the game and had Bhuvneshwar Kumar caught at extra cover by his skipper Rohit Sharma as MI won by 14 runs. Rohit praised Arjun as someone who's confident and has a fair idea of what he wants to do (as quoted by ESPNcricinfo):

"Arjun has been a part of this team for the last three years [though he didn't make the XI]. I have seen him grow over the years. He understands what he wants to do, and he is quite confident about what he wants to do for the team as well.

"We saw in this lead up to the IPL what he was doing; he was bowling fast, nailing those yorkers, and quite clear in his plans as well. Keeping things easy - that's what he is trying to do (for the team). He is trying to swing the new ball and bowl yorkers at the death," Rohit added.

Junior Tendulkar played only one match for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, bowling 14 deliveries and conceded 22 runs without claiming a wicket. Having been released by MI ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, he was bought back by the Mumbai franchise for his base price of ₹30 lakh.

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Arjun Tendulkar's stats in domestic cricket

Having made his debut in December 2022, Arjun has played 17 first-class matches and claimed 37 wickets at an average of 33.51, with one five-fer. He has also scored 532 runs at an average of 23.13, with one hundred and two half-centuries.

The bowling all-rounder has claimed 25 scalps in 18 List A games and 27 wickets in 24 T20Is. He has a highest score of 26 in List A cricket and 47 in T20s.