Arjun Tendulkar at work on dad’s day of honour

Getting the Bharat Ratna, which Sachin Tendulkar received on Tuesday, is the proudest moment for any Indian, but son, Arjun, chose to play for the Mumbai under-14 team.

However big the occasion, cricket will always come first for the Tendulkars. Getting the Bharat Ratna, which Sachin Tendulkar received on Tuesday, is the proudest moment for any Indian, but son, Arjun, chose to play for the Mumbai under-14 team.

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Officially, the winner is entitled to two passes for his family, but getting one more shouldn’t have been a problem for Tendulkar. Anyway, a couple of his former teammates and close friends were in attendance at the Rashtrapati Bhawan’s Durbar Hall with wife, Anjali, and daughter, Sara.

As the sun moved up at the Wankhede, Arjun opened Mumbai’s innings against Maharashtra in an under-14 West Zone league game. The left-hander took guard as his father was on the verge of being conferred with the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award, an honour bestowed on a sportsperson for the first time.

With Mumbai needing innings lead to win title, the 14-year-old all-rounder played his part.

Arjun didn’t set the stands alight but helped set a platform. He scored 26, lending support to Ritik Sharma (52) as the duo put on 70 for the first wicket before he was stumped. The knock included four boundaries.

Read: Sachin Tendulkar, Prof CNR Rao conferred with Bharat Ratna