Published 16:06 IST, February 19th 2021
Zaheer Khan says youngster Arjun Tendulkar must 'prove himself' in upcoming IPL 2021
Zaheer Khan has said that youngster Arjun Tendulkar needs to prove himself in the upcoming IPL 2021 where he will be representing the defending champions MI
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Mumbai Indians' Director of Cricket Operations, Zaheer Khan has said that young all-rounder Arjun Tendulkar will need to prove himself in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
One of the names that created a lot of buzz going into IPL auction 2021 was Arjun Tendulkar, the son of legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. The 21-year-old recently played for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 which had made him eligible to register for the auction. Subsequently, the franchises showed interest in buying the youngster, and eventually, he was bagged by the five-time champions for his base price of ₹20 lakh.
'He has to prove himself': Zaheer Khan
"I have spent a lot of time in the nets, trying to teach him some tricks of the trade, he is a hardworking kid, he is keen on learning, it is an exciting part. The added pressure of being Sachin Tendulkar's son will always be on him, it is something he needs to live with, the environment of the team will help him. It will help him become a good cricketer, how many times a youngster gets picked in the auction and everyone is talking about him, he has to prove himself and he has to show everyone he has the goods," said Zaheer during a virtual press conference.
The players roped in by MI in the IPL 2021 Auctions
The defending champions s successfully managed to plug in the holes that were left in the squad after the departure of Lasith Malinga (retired), James Pattinson, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Nathan Coulter-Nile who they released ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. It was apparent that the Mumbai team management was going to hunt the best possible overseas bowling options that are up for grabs at the IPL auction 2021 and they got a couple of seasoned quicks in the form of New Zealand speedster Adam Milne (₹3.2 crores) and veteran Australian quickie Nathan Coulter-Nile (₹5 crores).
Apart from that, the Rohit Sharma-led side also brought veteran spinner, Piyush Chawla, onboard as they bought him for ₹2.4 crores as a backup for leg-spinner Rahul Chahar. Subsequently, Mumbai went on to buy Kiwi all-rounder Jimmy Neesham for ₹50 lakh and bagged heavily-scouted South African player Marco Jansen for ₹20 lakh. The reigning champions also picked Jammu and Kashmir's Yudhvir Charak and Arjun Tendulkar for ₹20 lakh each.
(With ANI Inputs)
16:06 IST, February 19th 2021