Delhi Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson hailed young Arjun Tendulkar for his calm and composed bowling in his first two matches for the five-time champions and reckons that the expectations will always be high on him to perform, whenever he walks on the field.
The 23-year-old has been a part of Mumbai Indians for the last couple of seasons but hasn’t gotten a chance to represent the franchise and has been provided with an opportunity in the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson. Speaking on his impressive debut in the cash-rich league.
“Look I’ve seen him around but I hadn’t seen him bowl before until the first two games that he played. It’s a super cool thing for him to be able to play with the expectations of being Sachin Tendulkar’s son here. Like in India obviously, Sachin is a demigod really,” Shane Watson said on Grade Cricketer.
Many former cricketers like Rohan Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath have crumbled under pressure, as they had huge expectations of them to perform at the highest level. Speaking about expectations, Shane Watson believes that Arjun would try to follow the footmarks of legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
“The pressure that has been on Arjun Tendulkar to try and follow in his dad’s footsteps even though in different ways – as a left-arm fast bowler – is a huge credit to him just to be able to take it on knowing the pressure that is going to be on him,” Shane Watson said.
The left-arm pacer received his maiden cap from Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma for his debut against KKR. On the second game against SRH, the left-arm pacer held his nerves in the final over to concede only five runs and picked his maiden wicket in the cash-rich league.
The Experience Is Something You Can’t Imagine – Shane Watson On Arjun Tendulkar Dealing With Pressure
Shane Watson believes it is important for Arjun Tendulkar to handle the pressure, stating that he would experience a lot of pressure through his playing days in domestic cricket being a Son of a legendary cricketer in the world. The five-time champions Mumbai Indians have won three games in a row after facing back-to-back defeats in the first two games.
“The two games he has come in, Mumbai has won as well which has also helped. I haven’t seen a lot of him apart from just being him around the MI dugout for the last couple of years but credit to be. Because since the day he was born and worked his way through the ranks as a cricketer, the pressure that he would have had to experience is something you can’t imagine,” Watson added.
Arjun Tendulkar had a good outing in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for his new team Goa, picking up ten wickets at an economy rate of just 5.69 runs per over in seven matches. A capable all-rounder who is getting better by the day and it looks like the 23-year-old has a long career ahead of him. Rohit Sharma-led side will return to Wankhede to take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday, April 22.