On Saturday, team India’s net session at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai had one particular bowler grabbing all the eyeballs.
Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun Tendulkar could be seen bowling his pacers to Virat Kohli and co. The 18-year-old is part of the Mumbai U-19 squad and had been invited, among others in his squad, to make up the bowling numbers in India’s net session.
Unlike his famous father, Arjun is a southpaw and a medium pacer though their passion for the game remains similar.
Cricket has had a long history of fathers and sons representing their respective countries in the game and Arjun Tendulkar could become the latest to enter the club should he one day wear the blue of India.
We take a look at some other father-sons duo who have represented their countries in cricket.
Shaun Pollock remains one of the greatest all-rounders to have emerged from South Africa. With 421 wickets in Tests and another 393 in ODIs, the former South Africa skipper has impeccable credentials in all formats.
Though his swing and seam bowling remained his greatest weapons, Pollock was an able batsman as well with over 3,500 runs in both Tests and ODIs.
The Port Elizabeth-born man comes from a family entrenched in the sport. His father Peter represented the Proteas himself and was awarded the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1966. Just like his son, Pollock senior was primarily a fast bowler but also a useful lower-order batsman.
Peter’s brother Graeme was also part of the South African set-up and is regarded as one of the finest left-handed batsmen to have played the game.
Shaun Pollock receives an award from his father.
Sunil Gavaskar’s name remains synonymous with India cricket and he is widely considered as one the greatest opening batsmen in the history of cricket. His record of 34 Test centuries stood for almost two decades before it was broken by compatriot Sachin Tendulkar.
The first Test batsman to breach the 10,000-run mark, Gavaskar remains an indisputable icon of the game.
His son Rohan too took up cricket professionally and was a handy middle-order batsman who could bowl the occasional slow left-arm spin.
Unlike his illustrious father, Rohan did not have a successful tenure with the national team despite a decent track record in first-class cricket.
He made his India debut against Australia in 2004 but failed to create a lasting impression, playing only 11 ODIs in total.
Rohan did not have a successful international career unlike his dad.
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, or Tiger Pataudi as he is fondly known, is widely regarded as one India’s most revered Test captains. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year winner in 1968, Tiger Pataudi went on to play 46 Tests for India.
The right-handed batsman was thrust upon the India captaincy at the tender age of 21, making him the youngest ever to captain India and second-youngest overall after Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu broke his record.
His father, Iftikhar Ali Pataudi, was himself the captain of the Indian Test team during its tour of England in 1946.
Senior Pataudi had the unique distinction of representing both India and England in the Test arena having played three Tests each for both countries.
Tiger Pataudi is considered as one of India’s finest captains.
Having played 55 Test for India, Vijay Manjrekar was a fine batsman scoring seven centuries in the process. At one point, he held the record for the most runs scored (3,208) without hitting a single six before it was eventually broken by England’s Jonathan Trott.
His son Sanjay would go on to represent India himself, playing 37 Test matches and 74 ODIs as a middle-order batsman who could occasionally keep wicket just like his father.
Sanjay Manjrekar played 37 Tests for India.
David Bairstow was a former player for England and a crowd favourite for his county side Yorkshire. He played just four Tests for the Three Lions but had a more robust limited-overs career playing 27 ODIs.
A middle-order batsman who kept behind the stumps, Bairstow played 459 first-class matches in his career. His son, Jonny Bairstow, has continued in the path of his father, turning out for both Yorkshire and England.
The similarities don’t just end there with Jonny now England’s chief wicket-keeper. An established member of the England Test side, Bairstow junior is also a key man in short-form cricket.
Both father and son represented Yorkshire and England.
Michael Stewart is a former English cricketer who played eight Tests overall for his country. However, he had a much more successful first-class career, spanning 18 years, where he scored over 26,000 runs and made 49 centuries.
His son, Alec, went on to captain his country and play a record 133 Tests as well as 170 ODIs. With more than 8,000 Test runs to his credit, Stewart remains one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen to have emerged from England.
Mickey and Alec had contrasting careers with England.
Geoff Marsh was a former Australia player, coach and selector who went on to play 50 Tests and 117 ODIs for his country. An opening batsman, Marsh was also the coach of the Australian team which won the ICC World Cup in 1999.
Geoff Marsh remains only the third player in history to have had both his sons represent their country in Test cricket. Geoff’s sons – Shaun and Mitch, have both donned the Australian jersey and continue to do so. Shaun has played 23 Tests while the younger sibling Mitch has played 21.
Mitch Marsh was also a part of the Australian ODI team which won the ICC World Cup 2015 on home soil.
Mitch poses with his father Geoff after winning the 2015 World Cup.
Currently serving as an ICC match official, Chris Broad is a former England opening batsman who played 26 Tests and 34 ODIs for his country. He is most famous for hitting three back-to-back tons in the 1986-87 Ashes.
His son, Stuart, has continued in the traditions of his father by representing Nottinghamshire in first-class cricket along with obviously establishing himself as a mainstay in England’s Test set-up.
Broad junior’s achievements are well-documented and he is closing in on 400 Test scalps, having played 109 matches for his country.
