Arjun, Sachin Tendulkar become first father-son duo to play IPL

The 22nd Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders marked the debut of Arjun Tendulkar in the cash-rich league. Arjun, the son of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, has been with MI since the 2021 edition. Interestingly, they have become the first-ever father-son pair to play in IPL. Arjun, a left-arm seamer, currently represents Goa in domestic cricket.

• Arjun Tendulkar makes his much-awaited IPL debut.
• The latter was picked by MI for Rs. 20 lakh ahead of the 2021 edition. He wasn't given a chance to showcase his mettle.
• Nonetheless, he was picked once again by the five-time winners for Rs. 30 lakh in 2022. He ended up warming the bench again.
• Arjun would want to maximize his chances this time.

Following the footsteps of his father, Arjun smashed a century on his Ranji Trophy debut. The fast-bowling all-rounder, who is also a potent batter, accomplished the feat on Day 2 of the Elite Group C contest against Rajasthan during the 2022/23 season. Unlike his father, who served Mumbai throughout his career, Arjun made his Ranji Trophy debut for Goa.

Owing to Sachin's legacy, Arjun has been under scrutiny since the start of his domestic career. Back in 1988, Sachin scored a hundred against Gujarat on his Ranji Trophy debut. His son accomplished the same feat against Rajasthan.

Notably, Arjun made a switch to Goa in 2022 after not getting enough opportunities in the Mumbai camp. He played just three professional games for Mumbai. "Getting maximum game time on the ground is important for Arjun at this juncture. We believe that the shift will improve the probability of Arjun featuring in more competitive matches," read a statement by SRT Sports Management.

Arjun has made a decent start to his professional career. The 23-year-old owns eight wickets and 25 runs in seven List A games. In T20 cricket, he has 12 wickets and 20 runs in nine matches. Unlike the other two formats, Arjun has straightaway made a mark with the bat in red-ball cricket. He owns 223 runs and 12 wickets in the format.

Arjun's father, Sachin, regarded as the greatest batter of all time, remains the leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs by a huge margin. He is the only batsman to have scored over 30,000 runs across formats (34,357 runs in 664 matches). Sachin is the only batsman with 100 tons in international cricket. He has 25 more centuries than the second-placed Virat Kohli (75).

Sachin has been associated with the MI franchise since the inaugural IPL season (2008). He led them between 2008 and 2011, having won 30 out of 51 matches. Sachin is still MI's fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament, having slammed 2,334 runs from 78 matches at 34.83. He played his final IPL match in 2013, while his son, Arjun, debuted nearly 10 years later.