Since the time Arjun Tendulkar’s name came up in the list of 32 probables of the Mumbai under 14 side the Indian cricketing fraternity is going crazy. It was always expected that things will not be easy for the son of a batsman who have almost all the batting record to his name and who has done the unthinkable, scoring 100 international tons.
Arjun who is just 12 years old got selected in the team on the basis of his performance where he scored more than 250 runs in his five appearances playing for Khar centre and his best innings came in the semifinals where he scored a brilliant hundred.
But what followed is simply unthinkable; it is truly ridiculous for people to compare him with Sachin Tendulkar and for heaven’s sake people should not turn him into the ‘messiah’ who will change India’s fate in the future. His name came in the list and it is a good start for him, but one should not put too much pressure on him.
Sachin Tendulkar had the leverage of going under the radar till he was sixteen, but it is obvious that it will not be the same for Jr. Tendulkar. People are forcing themselves to find similarities between father and son, and they are pointing out even the remotest of similarity.
There have been prior examples where sons of great cricketers from India have not made their mark in international cricket and there has to be a reason behind that. One can’t put too much pressure on a young boy to start playing like their great fathers since the time they pick up a bat or a ball.
We are living in a nation where Sachin is considered to be god and when his son takes the battle-field he will be treated specially, but one should not forget that cricket is a game that one can master only after rigorous training and hard work and a youngster has to go through the process to master his skills.
It will be almost impossible for a player to replicate what Sachin has done for the game and people will be hoping and praying that his son can match the standards, but let him take one step at a time or else we may mess up the talented young lad that Arjun is.
By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News Network
