'You need to get a 100. Do you believe you can do that?': Tendulkar reveals honest chat with Arjun day before Ranji ton

India great Sachin Tendulkar reacted to his son Arjun's century on First-Class debut for Goa against Rajasthan on Wednesday.

On December 14, Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary former India batter Sachin Tendulkar, replicated his father's incredible First-Class feat when he smashed a century on Ranji Trophy debut. Arjun scored 120 off 207 balls for Goa against Rajasthan, smashing 16 fours and two sixes en route to his impressive knock in Porvorim. Arjun had switched to Goa earlier this year following lack of consistent opportunities for Mumbai's domestic side, which Sachin Tendulkar had represented throughout his career.

Arjun Tendulkar; Sachin Tendulkar (Instagram/File)

The 23-year-old Indian youngster carries significant pressure of expectations, thanks to his father's incredible cricketing career. On Wednesday, however, Arjun finally made a mark with the bat as his innings steered Goa to a strong total of 547/9 in the side's Elite Group C match. Justifiably, Tendulkar senior was a happy man after Arjun's maiden century in First-Class cricket and reacted to his son's feat in detail during a chat with Gaurav Kapoor in an event organized by Infosys.

When the host asked Tendulkar about his first reaction on Arjun's century, Tendulkar recalled a memory concerning his own father, Ramesh. “I remember hearing my father tell someone – this was just when I had started playing for India – someone referred to him as 'Sachin's father'. He heard that, and then my father's friend asked him ‘how do you feel?’ He said, 'it's the proudest moment of my life'. Fathers want their children to be recognized by what their child has done,” said Tendulkar.

“Arjun has not led a normal childhood. Being a son of a cricketer who's been around for quite some time, it's not so easy. That's the only reason, when I retired and I was felicitated by the media in Mumbai, my message to them was to allow Arjun to fall in love with cricket, give him that opportunity. You can follow up with various statements after he's performed, don't try to put pressure on him because I never had that pressure from my parents. They gave me the freedom to go out and express myself. There was no pressure of expectations, only encouragement and support and how we could go out and better ourselves. I kept telling him (Arjun), 'it's going to be challenging. You're not going to change the whole world. We have to change the mindset'.

“It hasn't been an easy ride for him, it's been a tough journey for him. Someone who can relate to him is possibly Rohan Gavaskar,” said Tendulkar further. Rohan is the son of famed former India batter Sunil Gavaskar and represented the national team in 11 ODIs. Despite having a stellar First-Class career with Bengal, however, Rohan failed to break into the Indian Test team.

Tendulkar also revealed his conversation with Arjun at the end of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan, stating that he told his son to “get a century” in the innings. At the time, Arjun was unbeaten on 4.

“I did tell him (to go for 100). He was batting on 4 not out, he was sent as a nightwatchman. He asked, ‘what do you think would be a good total?’ They were 210/5 down. I said, 'at least 375 is what you need to get to'. And he said, 'are you sure?' I replied, 'yeah. you need to go out and get a hundred. Do you believe you can go out and get a 100?'” said Tendulkar.