“Is this the beginning of nepotism in cricket?” – Twitter erupts as Arjun Tendulkar makes his IPL debut in MI vs KKR

Arjun Tendulkar finally made his IPL debut in the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 16. Arjun received his maiden cap from MI captain Rohit Sharma.

For the uninitiated, MI first bought Arjun for Rs. 20 lakh in 2021. The all-rounder was again picked by the same franchise for Rs 30 lakh in 2022 but couldn’t make his debut in either of the first two seasons. He was retained for Rs. 30 lakh ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction.

Arjun Tendulkar has so far scalped 12 wickets in nine T20 games at an economy rate of 6.6. He also scalped 12 wickets in seven games in the Ranji Trophy recently, after joining Goa from Mumbai.

Fans came up with mixed reactions to Arjun Tendulkar’s IPL debut. One tweeted:

It’s worth mentioning that Sachin Tendulkar and Arjun are the first father-son pair to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

MI win the toss and opt to field against KKR, Arjun Tendulkar makes IPL debut

Mumbai Indians (MI) stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field first against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday.

Regular captain Rohit Sharma has decided to sit out due to a stomach bug but has been named among the five substitute players. He could replace debutant Tendulkar as an impact player during the second innings.

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan (w), Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Riley Meredith.

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy.

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