Arjun Tendulkar must find “reasons to wake up every morning and chase his dreams,” his father, the Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, has said.
Arjun, the 19-year-old left-arm fast bowler, has played two ‘Tests’ at the U-19 level for India, and has been followed closely since having made his U-19 debut for Mumbai. He is set for his first senior appearance, in the second edition of ‘T20 Mumbai’.
Arjun will have to grab his opportunity to make an impact, admitted Sachin. “In sports, nothing is guaranteed, so whatever opportunities you are provided, you need to go out there and give your best and make the most of it,” Sachin told PTI .
“This is one platform that I feel people will be following you, your performances and if you are doing well, you will be on top of the world,” he added.
Passion for cricket
Regardless of success, Arjun must be passionate about cricket, felt Sachin. “As long as he continues to be passionate about cricket and in love with the game, that’s what matters to me. There are going to be highs and lows and he should find reasons to wake up in the morning and chase his dreams. His dream is to play cricket and do something special,” he said.
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Referring to the wisdom passed on to him by his own father — Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi poet and professor — Sachin said, “My father once told me: ‘You know as long as you don’t find shortcuts and prepare yourself before any match, then results will follow.’ I will ask him (Arjun) to do that. Don’t worry about anything else. Just go out there and do what you are good at. If he is a good team man and good human being above all, that will be much more important to me.”
‘Great platform’
The upcoming domestic tourney was a good platform for aspirants to be noticed, observed Sachin. “As far as youngsters are concerned, there are three boys, who did well in this event last year and have now got [Indian Premier League] teams. They are Shubham Ranjane, Shivam Dubey and Sushant Singh. So this provides a great platform to do something special and get into an IPL franchise. If you fit into their scheme of things, they will take you. Even if not, at least you have found a way to knock their doors,” he said.
But won’t the T20 lure drive away youngsters from the traditional Ranji Trophy? Sachin said, “It can’t be a one-way traffic. You have got to respect the sport and you will find that it takes care of you. The journey has to start from the heart and if you are passionate about cricket, it really doesn’t matter. That’s what I followed for a number of years.”
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