Amol Karhadkar
Mumbai
Arjun Tendulkar, the pace bowling all-rounder, will not play for Mumbai in the forthcoming domestic season. Arjun, son of legendary cricketer Sachin, is likely to represent Goa for the 2022-23 season.
“Getting maximum game time on the ground is important for Arjun at this juncture of his career. We believe that the shift will improve the probability of Arjun featuring in more competitive matches. He is embarking on a new phase of his cricketing career,” read a statement issued by SRT Sports Management, the firm that represents Tendulkar Sr.
Vipul Phadke, the Goa Cricket Association (GCA) secretary, confirmed that the GCA is considering Arjun for one of its three professionals’ slots. “He applied to us, so we had recently called him for trials. So far, we haven’t signed any professional. The decision will be finalised by August 25,” Phadke told The Hindu on Thursday.
Arjun, a month shy of turning 23, made his Mumbai debut during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2020-21 season. The left-arm pacer who is considered a handy bat has featured in two T20 matches for Mumbai so far.
Despite being in Mumbai’s squad for all the three formats during the last domestic season, Arjun was not selected for a game. The fact that he is no longer on the selectors’ radar as a key pacer was evident when he was omitted for the Ranji Trophy knockouts squad.
Arjun has also been a part of the Mumbai Indians set-up in the Indian Premier League for the last few seasons. After being a net bowler, he was signed for his base price of ₹20 lakh ahead of the 2021 edition. During the 2022 edition, MI bought him again for ₹30 lakh. He is yet to debut in the IPL.
Arjun is being considered as a like-for-like replacement for Vidarbha’s left-arm pacer Shreekant Wagh, who failed to deliver as a professional last season. Besides Wagh, Goa had Mumbai’s Eknath Kerkar and Shubham Ranjane as professionals.
Besides the trio and Tendulkar Jr., the GCA is understood to have been considering former Kenya batter Tanmay Mishra, who now resides in Mumbai, and Mumbai’s Siddhesh Lad.
