Following in your successful father's footsteps is very difficult. Just ask Abhishek Bachchan or Rohan Gavaskar. Now, it's the turn of Arjun Tendulkar, son of the great Sachin Tendulkar, to try and take on this onerous responsibility. So far, the lad seems to be doing just fine.
His latest achievement is to be bought at the maximum-possible price for the upcoming edition of the T20 Mumbai League. He was purchased in the auctions for an amount of Rs 5 lakh by a team called Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburb.
The auction
The base price for the bearer of proud Tendulkar name was set at Rs 1 lakh. It wasn't going to be enough as the franchises spiritedly tried to outbid each other for the budding left-armer. Eventually, a bid of Rs 5 lakh was made by a team called North Mumbai Panthers. Since this was the highest bid possible, there was only one way to move forward. They could exercise the Opportunity to Match (OTM) option. Two teams, Eagle Thane Strikers and Aakash Tigers, availed themselves of the OTM. This meant that these two remained in the race to have the junior Tendulkar playing for them.
It came down to the luck of draw as cards bearing the name of the two teams were put into a bag and a senior Mumbai Cricket Association official asked to draw one out. The lucky team turned out to be the Tigers. Interestingly, Sachin happens to be the brand ambassador of the league and can be seen in the television ads being aired.
Moving through the grades
Arjun has so far succeeded in making a mark not just in Mumbai cricket but also at the national level. He has had the opportunity to play for India under-19 side in unofficial 'Tests' against their Sri Lankan counterparts. Unlike his father, Arjun is a left-hander and primarily a seamer who can also be a useful batsman. It can be recalled that Sachin also had ambitions to become a pace bowler and had applied for admission at the MRF Pace Academy. He was rejected by Australian great Dennis Lillee due to lack of speed.
Much taller than his father, Arjun seems to be heading more successfully in that direction. Will he succeed? Only time can tell. However, it is a testament to the great Tendulkar that when he was at that age where his son is currently, he was already established in the Indian team and had even scored a hundred at Perth. Such precocious talents come rarely.
