Arjun Tendulkar, son of India cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, is all set to leave Mumbai and is looking to ply his trade for Goa in the upcoming 2022-23 domestic cricketing season. He had played 2 T20 matches for Mumbai during the 2020-21 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, against Haryana and Puducherry.
The 22-year-old left-arm pacer has been attending practice sessions of the Goa team and is expected to be the state association’s professional signing.
It has been learnt that Arjun has already applied for a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from his home association MCA.
"Getting maximum game time on the ground is important for Arjun at this juncture of his career. We believe that the shift will improve the probability of Arjun featuring in more competitive matches. He is embarking on a new phase of his cricketing career," SRT Sports Management said in a statement.
Tendulkar has been part of the Mumbai Indians setup for the past two seasons but has not made his IPL debut yet. He played two unofficial Tests for the India Under-19s against Sri Lanka Under-19s three years ago and was also part of the Mumbai Indians' developmental squad, which played T20 games in England recently.
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Unfortunately, he has been reportedly dropped from the Mumbai squad for this season without getting any chances to prove himself, which prompted this move to Goa.
Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Suraj Lotlikar confirmed that Arjun Tendulkar is expected to be considered among the state's pre-season probables as the state is looking for a left-arm pacer.
"We have been looking out for left-hand bowling talent [and to] also add players to the middle order with multiple skills. In this context, we invited Arjun Tendulkar to join the Goa side. We will be playing pre-season trial matches (white ball) and he will be playing in those games. The selectors will then take a call based on his performance,” Lotlikar said.
Arjun was part of Mumbai’s squad for the league stages last season, but couldn’t push his way through for the knockouts.
Mumbai chief selector Salil Ankola hoped the move will give a boost to Arjun's career.
"We picked him for the Ranji Trophy last year but he could not make the XI. He is an extremely talented boy and all he needs is some match time so that he can prove his abilities. I hope this switch will serve that purpose," Ankola told Cricbuzz.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
