Arjun Tendulkar, son of legend Sachin Tendulkar, finally made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Mumbai Indians (MI) against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing IPL 2023.
However, he came good against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in his second game and picked the wicket of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He had bowled two overs in the match, both in the powerplay, but with 20 runs needed in the last over, the MI skipper threw the ball to the young Tendulkar and he came good.
Arjun had been with the franchise for the past three years, but couldn’t break into the playing XI, despite Sachin being part of the MI dugout.
While the fans and former cricketers alike praised Arjun for his performance, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has opined that Arjun might need to make changes in his bowling action, otherwise, his pace could be a major issue.
“He's in his initial stage. He has to do a lot of hard work. His alignment isn't good, he won't be able to generate pace. If a good biomechanical consultant guides him, maybe he can add some pace to his bowling. It's quite a touchy subject, coaching and changing a player. Sachin could've done that himself but he relied on domestic cricket for that. Your base has to be strong. When he lands, he goes out instead of coming in. His balance isn't good, and that's impacting his pace. But again, it's still in the initial stage. He can go to 135kmph, he's a good batter. He can be a good player in 2-3 years,” Latif said on his YouTube channel.
He also said that the presence of his father Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai Indians’ dressing room has influenced Arjun’s attitude which might have been different had he played for some other franchise.
“If he was playing for some other franchise, says Sunrisers Hyderabad, his attitude would be quite different. Right now, his father is also in the dressing room. His fatherly roles should now be in his (non-cricketing) life,” Latif further said.
(Hindustan Times)
