Arjun played for Mumbai Indians in the recently held IPL season.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun Tendulkar, who played for Mumbai Indians in the recently held IPL season, has also been summoned for the camp, due to get underway in August.
“There is an Emerging Asia Cup (U-23) also later this year and BCCI is looking at potential youngsters. The all-rounders camp is an idea of NCA’s head of cricket VVS Laxman to ensure that we develop a lot of multi-skilled players across formats,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“Not everyone summoned for camp is a pure all-rounder. Some are batting all-rounders and some are opposite. The idea is to tap the potential and help them upgrade their skills suitably for transition to next grade,” the source added.
Besides Arjun, some other notable names include Chetan Sakariya and Abhishek Sharma, who have done well in the IPL previously and play for Saurashtra and Punjab in Indian domestic cricket respectively.
According to the report, Goa’s Mohit Redkar and Rajasthan’s Manav Suthar have also been summoned for the camp.
From Delhi, the two players to feature in the list are fast bowler Harshit Rana and medium pacer Divij Mehra, both of whom are handy batters as well.
“Harshit was in fact summoned as net bowler with senior Indian team to UK for WTC finals. Accordingly his visa and travel documents were prepared but we saw Yarra Prithviraj of Andhra being sent. But it’s good that national selectors are seriously considering his potential. He is also a handy batter, who can only get better if he works on his batting,” a senior DDCA official said.
“In case of Divij, getting a five-for against Mumbai worked for him. Plus at the age-group level, he has scored hundreds. He is more than a handy batter,” the official said.
Arjun Tendulkar played four matches in the IPL 2023 season, claiming three wickets at an economy of 9.35 and a strike rate of 19.66.
Asked the reason behind Arjun’s selection, the BCCI source said: “Arjun already has a Ranji Trophy century. A left-arm pacer who bowls between early and mid 130 kmph and bats left-handed. He brings in variety.”
Question might be asked over Tendulkar’s inclusion, considering his modest performance in domestic cricket.
“It is not just about numbers but also about potential. He is 23 and has time to develop is what this (senior selection) committee thinks. Else, they wouldn’t have picked him. Yes, he only has 12 wickets from seven First-Class games but he has shown a certain degree of ability and coaches will work on that,” the BCCI source added.
(With PTI Inputs)