Mumbai Indians coach Mark Boucher has said that left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar, who is coming off an injury, will be assessed during a practice match on Wednesday and hopes he will be available for selection.
“Arjun is coming off an injury. We will assess him tonight and it will be good if he is available for selection,” Boucher said during a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. The captain of the franchise Rohit Sharma also attended the conference.
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Arjun, who is the son of former Mumbai Indians captain and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, was bought by the franchise before the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He missed the tournament that year, however, due to injury. Arjun did not feature in the side in the 2022 edition either even when there was an opportunity to play him after Mumbai Indians were eliminated from the playoff race. The franchise continuing to deny Arjun his debut had come under criticism last year.
Boucher, however, indicated that the franchise intends to invest in the future and there would be a few places in the line-up that youngsters can grab. “It’s now time for the youngsters to show up. There are (a few) places for juniors to come in. The IPL is a massive event and it’s a massive opportunity for young boys to show up,” the former South African wicketkeeper-batsman said.
Arjun had played only seven first-class, seven List A and nine T20 matches in his career so far. He has taken 32 wickets and scored 268 runs in total.
Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach Shane Bond had said last year that Arjun still had plenty of work to do to earn his place into the playing eleven of the five-time IPL champion.
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“He’s got some work to go. When you’re playing for a team like Mumbai, making the squad is one thing but entering the playing XI is another. He still has a lot of hard work and development to do. When you play at this level, there’s a fine line between giving everyone a game… but you have to earn your spot too. Arjun needs to work on his batting and fielding before finding a place on the team. Hopefully, he can make those progressions and earn a spot in the team,” Bond said in an interaction with Sportskeeda.
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