Arjun Tendulkar shines again, captures attention of Australian media

What's the story?

Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun hogged the limelight with his all-around performance in the ongoing Spirit of Cricket Global Challenge, organised by the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Arjun Tendulkar, who was playing at the Bradman Oval, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "I'm just so privileged to play on the ground named after the Bradman, it's unbelievable."

Arjun, the son of the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, is an ardent fan of Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes.

“I just got stronger, grew taller and I loved bowling fast from my childhood. I thought I may as well be a quick bowler because there aren’t many in India," he added.

In case you didn't know...

Unlike his father, the 18-year-old Arjun is a left-handed batsman and a fast bowler.

He opened the batting for the Cricket Club of India and hit 48 runs from just 27 balls and then picked up four wickets in as many overs against Hong Kong Cricket Club in the global Twenty20 series on Thursday.

Arjun was seen bowling to Indian batsmen during a net session in Mumbai before the limited-overs series against New Zealand in October last year.

The heart of the matter

Arjun, who recently impressed with his bowling in the Cooch Behar Trophy, does not want to rely on his family name to make his mark and wants to forge his own path.

Despite his father's formidable batting record, the younger Tendulkar has ambitions of bowling for India and is focussed on enjoying the game and running his own race.

What’s next?

Eight teams are participating in the Spirit of Cricket Global Challenge - SCG XI, Marylebone Cricket Club, Cricket Club of India, Singapore Cricket Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club, South Australian Cricket Association, and Singalese Cricket Club and Izingari.

The T20 Challenge started on January 7 and will continue until 14 January.

Author’s take

Last month, Arjun grabbed a five-wicket haul for Mumbai in the Under -19 Cooch Behar Trophy and has been performing consistently well across formats despite the pressure of his surname.

The young man is doing his reputation no harm, however, only time will tell whether he would be in the same league as Sachin Tendulkar or not.