English batsmen face Sachin's son in nets ahead of the second Ashes Test
The name Tendulkar has graced the Mecca of cricket on many an occasion, but this time it was not Sachin who made the headlines. The maestro’s son Arjun Tendulkar bowled to the England batsmen during the team’s practice session at Lord’s where the second Ashes Test against Australia is scheduled to start on Thursday, ESPNcricinfo reported.
Arjun, 15, had reportedly made a request the previous day and his wish was granted after the England team management invited him to join the net bowlers at Lord’s. He is a left-handed medium pace bowler and with the Aussies possessing the likes of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, this was seen as ideal practice material for the host batsmen.
Sachin owns an apartment very near to Lord’s and usually comes down to England at this time of the year with his family. While the master-blaster was enjoying the Tennis action at the Royal Box in Wimbledon, Arjun has been a regular visitor at the MCC Academy.
Former England wicketkeeper Neil Burns is a close friend of the Tendulkars’ and made known Arjun's wish to England assistant coach Paul Farbrace, a request he politely accepted. The youngster seems to have impressed everyone with his bowling as several members of the England team along with Farbrace were seen congratulating him. He even received further tips from the England bowling coach Otis Gibson.
The Lord’s official twitter account broke the news initially which later spread like wildfire.
The Mumbai lad is an all-rounder and is more than decent with the bat as well as he thrashed 188 off just 42 balls for Dhirubhai Ambani International School U-16’s in September last year. Arjun, however, seems to have sharpened his bowling skills after a chat with Pakistan legend Wasim Akram during the IPL this year.
Speaking to NDTV at the time, Akram confirmed that he did give advice to Sachin’s son regarding his bowling.
“I gave him some general tips about fitness and wrist position. I told him how to bring the ball back into the right-hander. I told him to practice it for three months and then I promised him to teach how to take the ball away from the right-handers,” the 49-year-old said.
Here’s the video: