Three advantages Arjun Tendulkar has over his father Sachin

Ajit Vijaykumar 12:49 09/06/2018
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  • Arjun Tendulkar is now part of India's U19 squad. Image: BCCI.

    Arjun Tendulkar, son of India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, took his first steps towards national cricket when he was named in India‘s Under-19 squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

    Arjun, 18, has started to make his presence felt in domestic cricket. The left arm fast bowler, also a handy batsman, has picked up 18 wickets from five domestic matches at the U-19 level.

    He has also rubbed shoulders with the very best. Last year, he bowled at the nets ahead of the Lord’s Test between England and South Africa. There, he pinned England batsman Jonny Bairstow on his toe with a yorker that required medical attention. Arjun has also bowled to Virat Kohli at the Indian team nets.

    It is understandable Arjun will be compared to his father with expectations sky high. However, Arjun does have a few advantages at the beginning of his career that his father didn’t have. Here we look at them.

    PASS THROUGH AGE CRICKET

    Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut at the age of 16. His opening match was against Pakistan in Karachi against Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and a debutant quick -Waqar Younis. Yes, at 16. Sachin was fast-tracked to the toughest possible arena for an Indian cricketer when most boys are just coming to grips with life. There simply was not time for Sachin to work his way to the top level.

    Luckily, Arjun has that opportunity. He has played Mumbai U14s, U16s and U19s and is now part of India’s U19 side. That should give him ample time to prepare for tougher challengers while working on his game.

    PERFECT SET-UP

    The current set-up in Indian cricket is excellent. Young cricketers have numerous avenues from where they can climb the ladder and make a name for themselves. Venues, facilities, support structure, training methods and qualified personnel are right up there with what the world has to offer. All a kid has to do is show discipline and get on with the job.

    Sachin did not have that luxury. Polishing his game in the dusty maidans of Mumbai, Sachin developed on the basis of his talent and dedication because the cricketing infrastructure in India in the 1980s was some way behind the rest of the world. The country still produced quality cricketers then but now the set-up is so efficient that more players from remote corners of India are getting a break.

    THE FINEST MINDS IN THE WORLD

    Arjun routinely finds himself in the midst of some of the finest cricketing brains in the world. Not only his father one of the greatest players in history, he gets to bowl to the Indian team, talk to icons like Wasim Akram and Virat Kohli about his game and then bowl to England batsmen at nets in London. Now which teenage cricketer wouldn’t want that.

    Sachin did not have any of this and it is understandable as he was just his name and runs when he started as a 16 year old in Test cricket. Whatever he picked up came while he was playing competitively at the higher level.

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