Arjun Tendulkar
Arjun Tendulkar (Credits: Twitter)

When will Arjun Tendulkar make his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL)? This question has been doing the rounds in the Indian cricket fraternity for months now. Earlier this year, Mumbai Indians once again signed up Arjun in the IPL mega auction. The five-time champions spent Rs 30 lakhs for the services of Tendulkar junior. Arjun was part of Mumbai Indians’ squad for last year’s IPL too but did not get to play any match.

In the ongoing season too, he is yet to play for his team even though Mumbai Indians are well out of the playoffs race. Mumbai Indians had lost their first eight games to find themselves out of the playoffs race. Throughout the season, the Mumbai Indians team management has tried different combinations in their playing eleven but Arjun still could not make the cut. Earlier in the season, Mumbai head coach Mahela Jayawardene was asked about Arjun’s chances of playing in IPL 2022.

Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma. Photo Credit: IPL/BCCI.

In reply, the former Sri Lanka captain had said that there was no particular reason for the team to not play Arjun. Jayawardene had insisted that Arjun would be given a chance in the playing eleven if he is one of the ‘best guys’ in the team. Jayawardene said that Arjun’s chances of playing would depend on the team combination.

“Well, I think everyone in the squad is an option. We will see how things go. It is about match-ups and how we can win the matches and our priority is to make sure that we get the right match-ups. Every game is a confidence thing, we managed to get our first win and it is about stringing wins together and get the confidence back. It is about putting the best guys in the park. If Arjun is one of them, then we will consider it, yes, but it all depends on the combination that we put out,” Jayawardene had said.

Fans urge Mumbai Indians to give Arjun Tendulkar a chance:

With nothing left in the competition for Mumbai Indians, fans have urged the franchise to give Arjun Tendulkar a chance in their playing eleven for the remaining two games. At present, Mumbai are languishing at the bottom of the points table with just 3 wins from 12 games. Mumbai Indians have only pride to play for. In such a scenario, the fans have asked the franchise to finally give Arjun a chance. The fans voiced their opinion after Mumbai Indians’ Twitter handle posted a photo of the youngster on the social media.

Here are some of the reactions from the fans:

 

 

“Well, I think everyone in the squad is an option. We will see how things go. It is about match-ups and how we can win the matches and our priority is to make sure that we get the right match-ups,” Jayawardene said, as quoted by India Today.

“Every game is a confidence thing, we managed to get our first win and it is about stringing wins together and get the confidence back. It is about putting the best guys in the park. If Arjun is one of them, then we will consider it, yes, but it all depends on the combination that we put out,” Jayawardene further said.