One question doing the rounds among the Mumbai Indians (MI) fans, as the team threatens to end IPL 2022 with the worst-ever showing, is where Arjun Tendulkar is. With MI’s campaign just one match short of coming to an end, the fans would surely love to see the other Tendulkar in action, something they have missed for two seasons now, inspite of the youngster being in the MI fray for that long. With just a game to go, against Delhi Capitals on May 21, Mumbai Indians could surely afford to field him, as an investment for the future, if nothing else.
MI has played a fair collection of youngsters over the years, and 2022 has not been any different. Their prime choice was the South African Under-19 star Dewald Brevis, who began IPL 2022 with quite a bang, but thereafter seemed to fade away a bit as the results kept going against them.
Then there is Tristan Stubbs. Though his appearances for MI have not been the best (quite to the contrary, in fact), the 21-year-old has however made the South Africa squad for the T20 International series in India.
That is not all. Mumbai Indians have fielded Hrithik Shokeen, and Tilak Varma has become a regular in the side.
So essentially, only a few players in the MI line-up have yet to get a match and Arjun Tendulkar is on that list.
Arjun must play the last game of the season. Mumbai has given opportunities to almost everyone in the squad…about time you try him out too.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 17, 2022
MI have tried several left-arm seamers in their matches, with varying degrees of success. Tymal Mills had a nightmare, while Jaydev Unadkat has had better seasons.
Of the lot, Daniel Sams is the only one who has made a comeback, and there too, his batting skills have been as relevant as his bowling.
Tendulkar’s left-armer’s can potentially be tried, in the even there are any changes in the squad for the 2023 season, as there inevitably will be, given the form and shape of many established players and much of the younger lot.
He has already donned India colours in the Under-19 format, having been member of the Indian squad for the series against Sri Lanka.
His T20 debut for Mumbai happened in January 2021, and he has so far played two matches for two wickets.
Arjun has been in the MI squad for two years and hasn’t played a match yet. There are obvious ramifications to playing Arjun, not least his second name. There would be obvious tongue-wagging if he is played, and even more so if he didn’t succeed.
However, given that he is part of the squad and Mumbai Indians have invested money on him, it is only fair to the youngster that he is pushed to the business end to prove he can do it. Or not.
The culture of fielding young players in the Indian Premier League is one of the reasons why so many names have been thrown up over the years. Many players, wallowing in the anonymity of domestic cricket in some far-flung areas of the country have made it big, or at least have made their share of headlines at the IPL level, giving them a livelihood and also the focus to try for bigger things.
Even IPL 2022 has its share of young promising stars. Seam bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Mohsin Khan have come to the forefront, while Umran Malik has become a household name.
Arjun Tendulkar, a tall and strapping 22-year-old is possibly at the threshold of life decisions. He needs to find himself – importantly, he needs to find if his side needs him or not, or for that matter, if he needs cricket or not.
So given that now Mumbai Indians have more or less played their IPL 2022 and have discovered new things – including how to rally when the chips are down – they also need to put a little faith in their remaining players and give them all a chance to make the playing XI, just to let them know that they belong, if nothing else.
Arjun Tendulkar carries the burden of a big name, so naturally a lot of focus will be on him, whenever he takes the field. But that is where the litmus test lies for most youngsters. He needs to know how good he is, and so do we all.
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