With just a couple of days left until the IPL 2023 kicks off, Mumbai Indians' captain Rohit Sharma was answering one-on-one questions from journalists during MI’s pre-season press conference earlier on Wednesday, alongside coach Mark Boucher. When asked about whether or not Arjun Tendulkar is slated to make his debut for Mumbai Indians, the Hitman had a simple remark, “Good question. Hopefully, maybe.”
Arjun Tendulkar, the son of legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, has been a part of the MI setup since 2021 when he was initially bought at the base price of INR 20 lakhs. The youngster who currently plies his trade for Goa in domestic cricket didn’t get the chance to play in the first phase of IPL 2021 in April/May and got injured midway through the second phase of the season in September/October, thus ending any hopes of making his MI debut back then.
In 2022, there were many rumours and clamours among the fans about Arjun Tendulkar’s potential debut for Mumbai Indians but the team management instead preferred giving a chance to the likes of Hrithik Shokeen and Ramandeep Singh ahead of Arjun.
Mark Boucher, the head coach of Mumbai Indians also left a hint on when Arjun Tendulkar might make his debut for the franchise. He said, “Arjun is just coming off a slight little injury. So, he is going to be playing tonight and hopefully, we can see him do what he can do. I think he is playing quite a bit of cricket in the last, sort of, 6 months. It’s been very good for him as a bowler so yeah, if we can have him available for selection, it'll be very good for us.”
Mumbai Indians are scheduled to play their IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Captain Rohit Sharma will be looking to marshal his troops and start their campaign with a win against a very challenging opponent away from home.
