Mumbai (Maharashtra) : Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Mumbai Indian (MI) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Arjun started his career with Mumbai as a fast bowler but when moved to Goa to get a better opportunity. Before making this shift, he had represented Mumbai in only two T20 matches. Arjun’s debut was one of the most awaited debuts in IPL; considering, he is a son of world most celebrated cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Mumbai Indians had bought him at 30 lakhs in 2022 IPL auction, however he was the part of the squad but did not play any match. MI had also retained Arjun in the mini-auction of 2023.
Arjun’s stint with Goa started off with huge promise during the 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in which he took 10 wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 5.69. He continued his good run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well, taking seven wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 4.98. He finished as Goa’s leading wicket-taker in the competition.
In nine T20s, Arjun has scored 20 runs in five innings with best score of 15. He has 12 wickets in the format at an average of 16.50 and an economy rate of 6.60. His best bowling figures are 4/10 in the T20.
Playing seven first-class matches, Arjun has scored 223 runs in nine innings at an average of 24.77 with a century. He has also taken 12 wickets in the format at an average of 45.58 and an economy rate of 3.42. His best bowling figures in an innings are 3/104.
Whereas, in seven List-A matches, he has scored 25 runs in three innings, with best score of 14*. Arjun also has eight wickets in the format at an average of 32.37 and an economy rate of 4.98. His best bowling figures in the format are 2/32.
Arjun had also impressed everyone with his century in Ranji Trophy debut in December against Rajasthan last year.
Coming to the match, Mumbai Indians stand-in Skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field first in the Indian Premier League against Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Sunday.
In the absence of MI captain Rohit Sharma, who decided to sit out the match with a stomach bug, Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side on to the field. While Arjun Tendulkar will also makes his IPL debut for MI. KKR made no changes to their playing eleven.
Mumbai Indians would have been boosted with their win in their last fixture against Delhi Capitals. In contrast, Kolkata Knight Riders are coming into this match after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 23 runs.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Riley Meredith
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy.
