"Never saw that coming" - Twitterati trolls MI for signing Arjun Tendulkar
As widely expected, Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar has been bought by the Mumbai Indians (MI) at his base price of INR 20 lakhs in the IPL 2021 auction.
When Arjun Tendulkar's name was mentioned in the shortlist of 292 players for the auction, it was almost certain where he was headed. As the son of an Indian legend who represented Mumbai Indians for six seasons, the 21-year-old was always likely to be snapped up by the defending IPL champions.
Twitterati have a go at MI for signing Arjun Tendulkar
One could argue that Arjun Tendulkar has been selected to play for MI simply on the basis of his all-rounder tag. However, many fans on Twitter believe that he has been picked on the reputation of his illustrious father.
Terming it as 'nepotism', fans took to Twitter to express what they felt about Arjun Tendulkar's signing by Mumbai Indians:
Why Arjun Tendulkar's selection by MI has raised a lot of eyebrows?
Arjun Tendulkar played just two T20s in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Mumbai, where he picked up two wickets and scored only three runs. Thus, the selection of the player by MI doesn't seem to be on merit.
The 21-year-old did show flashes of brilliance during a Police Shield game last week, where he picked up three wickets and scored a quickfire 77 off just 31 balls. But the IPL is a different ball-game altogether.
At the moment, Arjun Tendulkar is a promising but unknown commodity in domestic and T20 cricket, something that might have prompted MI to take a punt on the left-hander.
Fortuitous to be selected ahead of several experienced campaigners who went unsold in the auction, Arjun Tendulkar is unlikely to get any game-time in a star-studded MI lineup at IPL 2021.
Nevertheless, the experience of sharing the dressing room with the likes of Indian and overseas superstars like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard, to name a few, could stand Arjun Tendulkar in good stead.