Legendary Sachin Tendulkar penned a heartwarming note after his son Arjun made his IPL debut on Sunday for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium, here.Arjun became the first son to play for the same Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise that his father Sachin Tendulkar represented for many years.
Opening the bowling, the left-arm seamer conceded five runs in his first over. He made a strong appeal for lbw against Jagadeesan but was turned down by the umpire as it looked like the ball would go over the stumps.
In his second over, he was driven off the backfoot for a boundary by KKR's Venkatesh Iyer, who then smacked the next delivery for a slightly mis-hit six over wide long-on.Eventually, Arjun returned with figures of 0/17 in an IPL 2023 match that ended with Mumbai emerging victorious by five wickets, despite KKR's Venkatesh Iyer smashing a century.
"Arjun, today you have taken another important step in your journey as a cricketer. As your father, someone who loves you and is passionate about the game, I know you will continue to give the game the respect it deserves and the game will love you back," tweeted Tendulkar along with father-son pictures.
"You have worked very hard to reach here, and I am sure you will continue to do so. This is the start of a beautiful journey. All the best," he added.The 23-year-old Arjun has been with Mumbai Indians for the last couple of years. He was picked in the auction in 2021 but had to withdraw due to an injury. He was picked in the 2022 auction too but did not get to play a single match last year.
He got his chance on Sunday with his father Sachin in the Mumbai Indians dugout. Arjun, who has played age-group cricket for Mumbai and made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2020-21 and had earlier last year shifted alliance to Goa and made Ranji Trophy debut for them against Rajasthan in an Elite Division match at Porvorim in December 2022.