Not many cricket teams in the world were happy playing against a side that had Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian batting legend has, more often than not, tormented opposition bowlers with his impeccable technique and aggression.
At 17, the Mumbai batsman tormented Graham Gooch's English side when he struck a brilliant fourth innings ton, which was also his maiden Test century, to save a match in Manchester. And that was just the beginning of Tendulkar's dominance as he went on to score 2,535 Test runs at an average of 51.73 against England.
Cut to 2017, England are still having trouble facing Tendulkar, this time not Sachin but his son Arjun. The 17-year-old left-arm pacer reportedly sent England wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow wobbling out of the nets with a perfectly-bowled toe-crusher.
Notably, it was the first delivery that Bairstow faced from Arjun in the Lord's nets on the eve of England's first Test against South Africa, starting Thursday, July 6.
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Despite escaping a major injury that would have put him in doubt for the Lord's Test, Bairstow had his left foot placed briefly in a compression unit on Wednesday morning, according to the Daily Mail.
Notably, Tendulkar's son Arjun is a regular at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and had been invited to join net bowlers in the past as well. Notably, in 2015, the then-15-year-old had trained with the English cricket team ahead of the second Ashes Test against Australia as his father reportedly owns an apartment near the Lord's cricket ground in London and used to regularly visit the MCC Academy.
Arjun, a left-arm fast bowler, has been part of Mumbai's junior teams in the past. In 2016, the son of the legendary cricketer made it to the U16 West Zone side.
Known as a passionate pacer and a handy batsman, Arjun won the praise of Wasim Akram when the young bowler met the Pakistani legend during the 2015 Indian Premier League.
After giving some tips on fast bowling, Akram had to say this about Arjun: "He is as enthusiastic as any 15-year-old passionate about cricket in India and Pakistan would be. I gave him some general tips about fitness and wrist position," as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
