Cricket expert Aakash Chopra has reacted to Mumbai Indians’ latest recruit Arjun Tendulkar and stated that the Rohit Sharma-led side bought the only Tendulkar that money could buy. The junior Tendulkar was the last name called out in the auction and MI purchased him for his base price of 20 lakh.
Mumbai Indians picked Arjun Tendulkar, son of the great Sachin Tendulkar, in their side, for his base price of 20 lakhs in the IPL mini-auction in Chennai. It turned out to be a controversial move as his selection has been questioned from all the quarters with many suggesting that the younger Tendulkar got buyers in Mumbai because of his surname and the senior Tendulkar’s involvement with the IPL champions. It had forced the team’s head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, team’s director, Zaheer Khan and owner, Akash Ambani, to come out and defend their decision to snap the services of the young all-rounder.
In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the purchase of Arjun, former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra, who has played alongside Sachin Tendulkar, asserted that Arjun is the only Tendulkar that money could buy.
“They have also got the only Tendulkar perhaps money can buy because the other Tendulkar never came at the auction. Arjun was available, they bought him,” Chopra told Star Sports, reported HT.
Aakash added that Arjun must have learned a fair bit of cricket at his home and will now have a great learning curve at the MI side and also suggested that the 21-year-old has taken wickets for Mumbai and that was the reason they got him.
“Of course, he can learn a lot from the house as well. He has a father who can teach him the ropes. But now he will be part of a very successful franchise with a lot of knowledge and wisdom around. So I am pretty sure he will benefit from that experience.
“He has been also picking up wickets for Mumbai. It’s not that he has just been picked because his surname is Tendulkar. He has been doing something. Of course, Mumbai wanted him, they got him,” he added.
