Arjun Tendulkar's reply exudes shades of his father as Shastri says 'you've gone one up on Sachin' post first IPL wicket
Like father, Arjun remained modest when Ravi Shastri asked about his new IPL feat and steered away the discussion to the match.
When Tendulkar takes the field, it is always Tendulkar who steals the limelight. It was true back then, through the 24-year-long career of Sachin, and it holds true till date when his son Arjun has begun his IPL career. On Tuesday, in the IPL 2023 match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Arjun was given a fresh and tougher role by Rohit Sharma and he stole the focus away from an all-round brilliance from Cameron Green, with his maiden IPL wicket in the final over of the match. But like father, Arjun remained modest when Ravi Shastri asked about his new IPL feat and steered away the discussion to the match.
Asked to defend 20 runs in the final over by captain Rohit Sharma, Arjun showed clarity of thought in his plan as he started by taking the ball away from Abdul Samad and then shifted his focus on nailing those perfect yorkers as he conceded only six runs in five balls while picking his maiden IPL wicket by dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
After the match, Arjun joined Shastri for a post-match discussion where the elated former India all-rounder asked the youngster how he felt on his achievement adding, "you've gone one up on Sachin". Shastri reminded Arjun that in Sachin's 78 appearances for Mumbai Indians in his IPL career between 2008 and 2013, Sachin never picked up a wicket. Across six season, Sachin only delivered 36 balls.
ALSO READ: Watch: Rohit Sharma almost knocked down by Ishan Kishan’s thunderous swat in SRH vs MI tie, Shastri drops epic one-liner
However, a modest Arjun replied: “Obviously it was great getting my first IPL wicket. I just had to focus on what was in hand, the plan and executing it,” he said.
When asked about his plans for the last over, he explained: “Our plan was just to bowl wide and get the long boundary into play, make the batsman hit it to the longer side. I love bowling, I am happy to bowl anytime the captain asks me to and just stick to the team plan and give my best.”
Ian Bishop, meanwhile, was curious about the discussions he has with his father and the 23-year-old revealed: We (Sachin Tendulkar and him) talk about cricket, we discuss tactics before the game and he tells me to back what I practise every game."
Given his stunning show on Tuesday, it might be expected that Arjun will have a longer run in the playing XI. Not to forget, he is an all-rounder with a Ranji Trophy century to his name.