Arjun Tendulkar, son of the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, became one of the youngest players to get picked up in the IPL 2021 auction, which was held on Thursday in Chennai.
He was picked up at his base price of ₹20 lakhs by defending champions Mumbai Indians. Having made his debut for Mumbai recently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, he got his first chance to appear in the auction.
After earning his maiden IPL contract, junior Tendulkar referred to himself as a die-hard fan of Mumbai Indians. He went on to thank the coaches and owners of the franchise for picking him up.
“Since childhood, I have always been a die-hard fan of Mumbai Indians. I would like to thank coaches, owners, and support staff for showing faith in me. I am excited to join the MI paltan,” the 21-year-old said in a video posted by Mumbai Indians on their Twitter handle.
Head coach Mahela Jayawardene, director of cricket operations Zaheer Khan, and owner Akash Ambani all argued that Arjun’s step-up was nothing more than a young cricketer being given an opportunity and that he would need to prove himself just like anyone else at one of the world’s most-successful T20 teams.
Surjitt Sahani
