5 best father-son duos in Indian cricket

Arjun Tendulkar emulated his legendary father, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, by smashing a hundred on his first-class debut on Wednesday, December 14.

Representing Goa against Rajasthan in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2022-23 match in Porvorim, Arjun scored 120 off 207 balls in the first innings. His impressive knock featured 16 fours and two sixes as Goa declared on 547/9.

Arjun’s father, Sachin, had also scored a century on his first-class debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy back in 1988, against Gujarat. The Master Blaster was only 15 years old when he achieved the feat. Thirty-four years later, his son too has done the same, making the Tendulkar family proud.

Prior to his first-class debut, 23-year-old Arjun had played seven first-class matches and nine T20s in which the left-arm seamer claimed eight and 12 wickets, respectively. On the batting front, he has scored 25 and 20 runs in the two formats, respectively.

In the wake of Arjun emulating his father by scoring a century on his first-class debut, we look at five of the most popular father-son duos in Indian cricket.

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#1 Lala Amarnath and Mohinder Amarnath

Lala Amarnath (left) and Mohinder Amarnath

Among the first big names in Indian cricket, Lala Amarnath holds the distinction of scoring the country’s first Test century, that too, on debut against England in Mumbai in 1933.

A right-handed batter and right-arm pacer, he played 24 Tests, scoring 878 runs at an average of 24.38. Apart from a century, he also struck four fifties. With the ball, he claimed 45 scalps, including two five-wicket hauls. He also led India in 15 of his 24 Tests.

His son Mohinder Amarnath was the hero of India’s 1983 ODI World Cup triumph in England. Mohinder was the Player of the Match in both the semi-final and final of the competition. The former all-rounder represented India in 69 Tests and 85 ODIs, scoring 4378 and 1924 runs, respectively. With his medium pace, he claimed 78 international scalps.

Another of Lala’s sons, Surinder also played for India. He scored a century on his Test debut against New Zealand in Auckland. However, he ended up featuring in only 10 Tests and three ODIs.

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#2 Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi (left) and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

The only cricketer to have played Tests for both England and India, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi scored a hundred on debut for England against Australia in December 1932 in Sydney.

After representing England in three Tests, he captained India against his former team at Lord’s in 1946. Iftikhar played two more Tests and finished his career with 199 runs at an average of 19.90.

His son Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi is recognized as one of India’s greatest Test captains. He took charge of the team at the age of 21, just a few months after a car accident left him with an impaired right eye. Fondly known as Tiger Pataudi, he captained India in 40 of his 46 Tests, out of which India won nine.

It was under Tiger that India registered their maiden overseas Test victory against New Zealand in 1967. As a batter, he scored 2793 runs in 46 Tests at an average of 34.91 despite his eyesight issues.

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#3 Vijay Manjrekar and Sanjay Manjrekar

Vijay Manjrekar (left) and Sanjay Manjrekar

Vijay Manjrekar had an impressive career as a batter for India. He played 55 Tests from 1952 to 1965, scoring 3208 runs at an average of 39.12 with seven Test hundreds.

Two of his Test tons came away from home - 133 versus England in Leeds in 1952 and 118 against West Indies in Kingston in 1953. He also scored a hundred in his last Test innings against New Zealand in Chennai.

Sanjay Manjrekar played a few terrific knocks at the start of his Test career. He hit 118 against Bridgetown in 1989 and followed it up by amassing 569 runs in four Tests - including his career-best of 218 - during the tour of Pakistan in the same year. However, a self-admitted over-obsession with being technically correct hindered his progress.

In the end, Sanjay had an unfulfilled international career. He played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs, scoring 2043 and 1994 runs, respectively. He works as a cricket commentator and analyst these days.

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#4 Sunil Gavaskar and Rohan Gavaskar

Rohan Gavaskar (left) with Sunil Gavaskar.

Sunil Gavaskar is regarded as one of the greatest batters to have ever played the sport. He took the cricket world by storm, amassing 774 runs in four Tests in his debut series against the mighty West Indies in 1970-71.

The Little Master did not look back after that. He ended his legendary career with 10122 runs in 125 Tests at an average of 51.12.

His 34 Test hundreds stood as the record for the highest number of tons in the format until it was broken by Tendulkar. Gavaskar also scored an ODI ton against New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup.

Rohan Gavaskar did not enjoy a successful international career. A left-handed batter and part-time left-arm spinner, he played only 11 ODIs for India, scoring one half-century and picking up one wicket.

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#5 Roger Binny and Stuart Binny

Stuart Binny (left) with Roger Binny.

The current BCCI chief, Roger Binny, was a handy all-rounder during his playing days. He was the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps in eight matches when India shocked the world by lifting the 1983 ODI World Cup.

Roger represented India in 27 Tests and 72 ODIs. He claimed a total of 124 international wickets and scored six half-centuries across the two formats.

Stuart Binny was also an all-rounder who represented India in six Tests, 14 ODIs, and three T20Is. A medium pacer and a handy lower-order batter, he holds the record for the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs - 6/4 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2014.

He also scored 78 on his Test debut against England in Nottingham the same year.

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