Arjun Tendulkar was bought by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for his base price of INR 20 lakhs in the IPL 2021 auction. While many believe that the contract is not on the basis of merit, former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan, who has worked with Arjun, calls him a hard-working cricketer.
Zaheer Khan, who is now the Director of Cricket Operations for Mumbai Indians, spent hours in the nets with Arjun Tendulkar teaching the youngster trades of fast bowling.
The 21-year-old has previously bowled to the Indian and English teams in practice sessions and was a net bowler for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020 in the UAE.
Zaheer Khan said in a virtual press conference, "I have spent a lot of time in the nets, trying to teach him (Arjun) some tricks of the trade, he is a hardworking kid, he is keen on learning, it is an exciting part. The added pressure of being Sachin Tendulkar's son will always be on him, it is something he needs to live with, the environment of the team will help him."
IPL 2021 Auction: Mumbai Indians fetch Arjun Tendulkar at INR 20 lakh
"It will help him become a good cricketer, how many times a youngster gets picked in the auction and everyone is talking about him, he has to prove himself and he has to show everyone he has the goods," he added.
MI also managed to regain Australian pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile for INR 5 crores, who was released before the auction. Zaheer Khan is happy with the balance of the team after picking the Australian again.
He said, "It is a complete attack for sure, if you see how we have been stacking up for the squad, we have a good balance in our fast-bowling attack, we are happy to have Coulter-Nile back, we surely back him and he is going to add that balance to the squad, previous IPL, he was one of our top picks."
"We released two domestic players for this season, it is just a case by case basis, we believe in encouraging young talent, someone who has been with MI, it is not that he has gone away from the system, it is about making strategic calls and it depends on what is coming our way in the upcoming season. This year was in fact the year where we released more overseas players than the domestic players," Zaheer added.
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New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham also found a place on the MI side with a contract of INR 50 lakhs. MI put a lot of thought into getting the Kiwi with his all-around abilities and was happy with the timing at which they managed to get him.
"He is someone who has capabilities of a good all-rounder, it is all about timing, we have timed it well. Neesham has the capabilities and that is what we all think, hence the opportunity. It is all about timing, it is all about getting a chance to prove yourself," the 42-year-old said.
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardena has revealed that Neesham will be used as a backup for the big-hitting West Indian Kieron Pollard at No. 6.
"We feel Jimmy Neesham has potential, he has played good cricket, you can have a bad season but that doesn't mean you are a bad player. He will be a power-hitter for us at number six as a back-up to Kieron Pollard, it gives us good options to fall back to if we need that backup option. He is a left-hander and that is a plus," Jayawardene said.
(With inputs from ANI)
