Will Arjun Tendulkar make his IPL debut this season? MI coach Mahela Jayawardene gives an interesting answer

IPL 2022: Arjun Tendulkar is yet to make an appearance for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

The Mumbai Indians (MI) had a disappointing season in the 2022 Indian Premier League. The side lost eight successive games in the edition before finally registering its first win against Rajasthan Royals last week, and will return to action on Friday when the side takes on table-toppers Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The MI team management has tried different combinations in their XI throughout the season; however, one player who is yet to feature for the side is youngster Arjun Tendulkar. Follow IPL 2022 Coverage

Mahela Jayawardene; Arjun Tendulkar(IPL/MI)

The all-rounder, who is the son of legendary former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, was picked by Mumbai Indians in the mega auction preceding the tournament for INR 30 lakh.

With five games remaining for the Mumbai Indians in this season, will their coach Mahela Jayawardene be inclined towards handing Tendulkar Junior an IPL debut? The former Sri Lankan batter opened up on the possibility in a media interaction ahead of the game.

“Well, I think everyone in the squad is an option. We will see how things go. It is about match-ups and how we can win the matches and our priority is to make sure that we get the right match-ups,” Jayawardene said, as quoted by India Today.

“Every game is a confidence thing, we managed to get our first win and it is about stringing wins together and get the confidence back. It is about putting the best guys in the park. If Arjun is one of them, then we will consider it, yes, but it all depends on the combination that we put out,” Jayawardene further said.

Tendulkar made his debut for his state side Mumbai during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in January 2021; however, he is yet to make his first-class debut for the side.

Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, will be aiming to make a strong finish to the season, having already been all but out of the race for playoff qualification.