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Arjun Tendulkar is playing his maiden IPL, where he has been a part of the Mumbai Indians Playing XI in four matches and has managed to take three wickets in them. Former New Zealand player-turned-commentator Simon Doull, who is popular for his blunt comments, said that Arjun Tendulkar isn’t ready to bowl the death overs yet.
Arjun made his debut in Mumbai’s game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, where the pacer failed to make any significant impact. During MI's match against PBKS on April 22, Arjun went for 31 runs in an over, the joint-most expensive of IPL 2023 so far.
Doull also said that the real strength of the Mumbai Indians pacer lies inside the powerplay as he can swing the ball upfront. Speaking to a cricket media portal, the Kiwi commentator said, "The last thing you want to do to a young man (Arjun Tendulkar) is throw him on the heap after one bad game because he has actually done a pretty good job. I don't think in all honesty, and I think Rohit Sharma knows he is not really a death bowler as of yet. He is not a guy they should be bowling in the last four or five. But he went to him to give him an opportunity, and it cost them."
He further said that Tendulkar’s abilities are like Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar who can bowl two-three overs in the powerplay. He was quoted saying, "I think he is more like Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar, who bowl two to three overs upfront where it swings a little bit, and then you forget about it. He is not experienced enough at the moment to be bowling at the back end of the innings."
Notably, in his next game against the SunRisers Hyderabad, the young pacer defended 20 runs in the last over and also managed to pick his maiden wicket. Tendulkar, in his next game, conceded 48 runs in four overs in the game against Punjab Kings. But, in the last game against Gujarat Titans, Tendulkar picked a wicket.
