Arjun Tendulkar makes much-awaited IPL debut for MI; Sachin, Rohit have intense chat, Sara cheers from the stands

The long wait has finally come to an end for Arjun Tendulkar as the son of legendary India batter Sachin is all set to make his IPL debut in the match vs KKR

The long wait has finally come to an end for Arjun Tendulkar as the son of legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar is all set to make his IPL debut in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. The duo will hence be the first-ever father-son pair to have played in the IPL, with both having made their appearances for Mumbai Indians. Sachin last appeared in the league in 2013. (MI vs KKR Live Score, IPL 2023)

Arjun Tendulkar with father Sachin; Sara cheers from stands

Arjun was roped in by Mumbai Indians in the auction before the 2021 season, for a base price of INR 20 lakhs. A year later, in the mega auction for the 2022 season, Arjun had attracted two bidders with Gujarat Titans too having raised the paddle before he returned to MI for a price of INR 30 lakhs. However, despite his presence in the squad for over seasons, he wasn't handed his debut cap until on Sunday, April 16 of 2023.

Ahead of the toss, Arjun was seen having an intense conversation with his father Sachin, who has been long associated with the franchise, first as a player and now as a mentor. Later, regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who has not been included in the first XI for the match against KKR owing to "stomach bug", as explained by stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav, joined the conversation with Sachin with the duo trying to motivate the 23-year-old ahead of his debut at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. Arjun's sister, Sara, too was spotted in the stands.

The all-rounder made his T20 debut for Mumbai in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season and had finished with 1 for 34 in three overs. In the next season, he moved to Goa for the 2022-23 domestic season, where he scored a century on Ranji Trophy debut against Rajasthan as a No.7 batter. He also had an impressive white-ball campaign for the team, ending as the joint leading wicket-taker in Vijay Hazare Trophy. Arjun had picked eight wickets in seven ties at an average of 32.37. And in seven matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the left-arm pacer picked 10 wickets for Goa at an economy rate of 5.69.

Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Suryakumar had won the toss and put KKR to bat first in the match. "Will love to bowl first, the wicket looks dry. The ball comes on to the bat nicely later," he said.

KKR, on the other ahnd, did not make any changes for the game.

"The mood in the dressing room is good, need to improve our bowling. We believe we can chase 200-210. The ball might turn in the second innings I think. One player can't win you a tournament, it's a team sport. It's good for us, that everyone is scoring runs. We'll target to score around 180 on this wicket, we are playing with the same team," KKR skipper Nitish Rana said.