The iconic Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar's nascent cricketing career got a major fillip on Thursday when he was picked by Mumbai Indians at the IPL players' auction, the last name to go under the hammer in Chennai. The franchise for which his father didn't just play but also took up mentorship of youngsters, bought Arjun for Rs 20 lakh, which was his base price. It was hardly a surprise given that he has been a net bowler for the franchise for the past two-three seasons. The 21-year-old recently made his senior Mumbai team debut when he played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the national T20 championship, against Haryana.

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardane stressed that the franchise picked Arjun purely on skills. "We have looked at it purely on a skills-basis, I mean, there is going to be a big tag on his head, because of Sachin, but luckily he is a bowler, not a batsman, so I think, Sachin will be very proud, if he could bowl like Arjun," Jayawardane said at a virtual press conference held after the auction.