Arjun Tendulkar mentions Rohit in first-ever reaction after IPL debut for MI; Sachin says '16 years down the line...'

Finally reflecting on the occasion is Arjun Tendulkar himself, who shared his first-ever thoughts on making his IPL debut with father Sachin sitting next to him

After waiting for more than two overs, Arjun Tendulkar finally had his moment under the sun when he made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians. Arjun, son of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, received his IPL cap from Rohit Sharma and had a decent start to his career, finishing with 0/17 from two overs. There were no half-measures with him as stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav threw the ball to Arjun straightaway, and the 23-year-old repaid the faith by giving away just five runs in his first over, which also included a close LBW shout. It was a huge moment of pride for the Tendulkar family as father Sachin watched the proceedings from inside the MI change room and sister Sara cheered on from the stands.

Here's presenting for the first-time ever: Sachin Tendulkar and Arjun Tendulkar. (MI/Screengrab)

After the match, Sachin took to social media to express his emotions on seeing Arjun take his first steps in top-flight cricket as his former India teammates Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Sourav Ganguly all congratulated the Master Blaster on the special moment. Now, finally reflecting on the momentous occasion is Arjun himself, who shared his first-ever thoughts on making his IPL debut.

"It was a great moment. It's always special to play for the team I have supported since 2008. It was very renice to get the cap from the captain of MI and the Indian team," he said, while keeping it short, sweet and simple.

The attention then turned to his father, the great Sachin. The legendary Tendulkar has been heavily involved with his son and his training and in fact, referred Arjun to coach with Yograj Singh. Sachin opened up on the range of emotions he experienced watching Arjun play and revealed why he decided to stay inside the dressing room and that seeing the action unfold from the dugout.

"This was a new experience for me because till now I have not actually gone and watched him play. I just wanted him to have the freedom to go out and express himself and do whatever he wanted to. And today also, I sat in the dressing room because I didn't want to let him move away from his plans and start looking at the mega screen here and suddenly realise that I'm watching him. I was inside. It is a different feeling because 2008 was the first season for me and 16 years down the line, he plays for the same team. Not bad," he said.

The Sachin-Arjun pair is the first-ever father-son duo to play for the same team – in MI – in the IPL. Sachin played six seasons for MI from 2008 and 2013, ending his campaign by winning a title. In 78 matches, Tendulkar scored 2334 runs at an average of 34.48 including 13 fifties and one century, while winning the Orange Cap in 2010 for striking 618 runs as MI finisher runner-ups.