arjun tendulkar under 14

                   Arjun Tendulkar, son of Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar, has been selected for the Mumbai under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy team after an all-round show in the Mumbai Cricket Association's Under-16 Payyade Trophy. (Wasim Akram Gives Bowling Classes to Arjun Tendulkar During IPL 2015)
Arjun, who has played for the Under-14 Mumbai side in the West Zone leg matches of the BCCI tournament, smashed an impressive century (106 off 156 balls) for his side, Sunil Gavaskar XI. (Sachin Tendulkar Says Son Arjun is Interested in Joining Indian Air Force)
              On Day Two, the promising all-rounder shone with his left-arm medium pace and took four wickets for 73 runs against Rohit Sharma XI. The youngster then went on to score 40 runs for his team in the second innings. The Payyade Trophy serves as a selection trial for Under-16 cricketers in Mumbai.
With no less than super dad available to give batting tips, Arjun has received bowling advise from Pakistan great Wasim Akram. Arjun has also been seen in the nets with the England national side.

Another father-son combination in Indian cricket?

              Indian cricket has not been a stranger to father and son combinations. The most successful father-son combination is probably Lala Amarnath and his sons, Mohinder and Surinder Amarnath. While Lala Amarnath etched his name in the annals of sporting history by becoming the first Indian cricketer to score a Test century, Mohinder Amarnath was Man of the Series in India’s 1983 World Cup title. Surinder Amarnath also represented India at the national level and was a prolific batsman at the first-class level. On a bit of a dampener though, there is also the case of the Gavaskars – Rohan Gavaskar could never really come out of the massive shadow of his father, the original Little Master Sunil Gavaskar, something that both Samit Dravid and Arjun Tendulkar should be wary of.

But back to Samit Dravid. This nine-year old right-handed batsman has been making waves with his performances for his school, Mallya Aditi International School. This bespectacled youngster hit a crucial 77 in the final of the U-12 Inter-School Gopalan Cricket Challenge Cup in Bengaluru to take his school to the title. But that was not a one-off. Samit Dravid has been an epitome of consistency (dare we say it, just like his dad).  In the matches preceding the final, Dravid Jr hit two half-centuries both in match-winning performances and deservedly got the “Best Batsman” award in the U-12 category.

Big shoes to fill

Another rising star is Arjun Tendulkar. His father might have had every shot in the book, but Arjun looks to be taking a different route. A video during the Ashes showed Arjun Tendulkar bowling against the English batsmen in the nets. Unlike his father though, Arjun Tendulkar bowled left-arm fast with a smooth run-up. He’s already impressed none other than Wasim Akram who, in an interview during the Indian Premier League, labelled him a “passionate kid” and gave him tips on how take the ball away from right-handers. And don’t think he’s a mug with the bat either – he scored 118 off just 42 balls for his school in a school cricket tournament, recently.

Of course, this is just the start of their career and there’s a long way ahead. But cricket fans are a romantic lot, prone to get nostalgic – especially if Samit Dravid puts his front foot down and plays one of those textbook cover drives.