This move by Arjun Tendulkar Mumbai Indians The IPL trade window ahead of the IPL 2026 auction may have been a straight forward swap deal for Lucknow Supergiants, but it certainly caught the attention of fans, even though the trade window witnessed some seismic changes like the trade of Sanju Samson from RR to CSK. And with LSG set to begin their campaign against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana International Stadium today, the buzz is whether the all-rounder finds a place in the LSG playing XI. LSG, who finished at a lowly seventh position in IPL 2025, will be aiming for a winning start with a Rishabh Pant-led team. And unlike last year, where LSG struggled with injuries, this time around they have a fully fit squad with key additions like Mohammad Shami and Enrich Nortje, while the return of Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan from injury bolsters their pace bowling wealth.
Arjun Tendulkar will play today. ?
And with that, the question arises whether Arjun Tendulkar will be able to get a place in the playing XI? Primarily a bowler, Tendulkar will face stiff competition for a place in the final XI from the likes of Indian internationals Avesh Khan, Mayank and Mohsin, who will lead the Syrian attack. There is also a host of young pacers in Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Naman Tiwari and fast-bowling all-rounder Arshin Kulkarni who are also vying for a place. Although Mumbai Indians signed Tendulkar in IPL 2021, an injury ruled him out for the season before the franchise re-bought him ahead of the 2022 season. And after being benched for the 2022 season, he finally made his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023 and took three wickets in five matches for MI. Always in the shadow of his legendary father, Tendulkar’s every performance is scrutinized and Sachin is often treated unfairly, but Arjun has taken 27 wickets in 24 T20s in domestic cricket over the years at a strike rate of 17.1 and an average of 25.07. He has also scored 119 runs in the format at a strike rate of 123.95. After initially representing Mumbai, Arjun shifted his allegiance to Goa and claimed List A wickets of 25 and 47 in first-class cricket, scoring two fifties and a century at FC. Earlier, ahead of LSG’s season opener, Tendulkar revealed in a podcast how he deals with the criticism leveled at him. In an interview with Shubhankar Mishra, Arjun was asked: “How do you keep yourself so calm and cool?” Arjun replied: “I have 5 dogs in Goa and I spend time playing with them”. Shubhankar asked: “Do you have friends who are cricketers?” Arjun said: “I don’t really have cricketer friends, most of my friends don’t play cricket”. Shubhankar asked: “Are you afraid of criticism?”. Arjuna: Said: No, I don’t.
