Senior BCCI official quash rumours of nepotism, defend selection of Arjun Tendulkar

Young all-rounder Arjun Tendulkar earned his maiden call up in the India U19 side recently. He was picked up in the squad that would play four day games in Sri Lanka. Arjun, who is the son legendary former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, is a fast bowler by trade who bats in the lower middle order. While many saw his selection as an opportunity to see another ‘Tendulkar’ on the field, there have been a few who sense nepotism in the entire scene.

Some fans showed their disappointment over the social media quoting that the selection of Arjun Tendulkar is nothing but a case of Nepotism. They remarked that his selection shows that the wings of nepotism has spread on the cricketing field as well after being prominent in the Bollywood. However, a senior BCCI official who wished to be unnamed justified the selection of Arjun.

Arjun Tendulkar scalped 18 wickets in the Cooch Behar Trophy in the recent season. The official cited that Arjun was the only genuine quick bowler who picked more than 15 wickets. The only other prominent pacer in the list was Ajay Dev. However, Ajay is a medium pacer while Arjun is quick.

“If you look at the list, Arjun is the only genuine quick bowler who has more than 15 wickets. Most of the bowlers above him are spinners with only Ajay Dev Goud (33 wickets) being a genuine all-rounder. He is a slow medium bowler while Arjun is a quick bowler,” the source told The Times of India.

Instructions from BCCI and Rahul Dravid

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that another played, Himachal Pradesh’s Ayush Jamwal was not picked despite taking 50 wickets in the Cooch Behar Trophy. This was due the direction of the BCCI and Rahul Dravid who had asked the selectors not to pick the players who will cross the age of 19 by the end of this year.

“There is a clear direction from BCCI and coach Rahul Dravid that those who will surpass 19 by this year should not be selected even if they have performed. Let them play Ranji Trophy according to Rahul. So a lot of boys ahead of Arjun are disqualified,” a senior BCCI official quoted.

Another person who has come out in support of Arjun Tendulkar is the Mumbai U19 coach, Satish Samant. Satish remarked that Arjun uses his height to good use and has a very good high arm action. He noted that the bowler has shown tremendous improvement in the last few months and has a lot of variations up his sleeve in the game.

“He is nippy. His release is good. It’s a high-arm action. He’s tall as well. There’s been a vast improvement in pace over the last 5-6 months. In terms of swing, especially bringing the ball back into the right-hander, he’s become a lot more accurate and hits the right areas. He’s also got a deceptive bouncer. His overall skills are good. He has got a good yorker and a slower one from the back of the hand,” Satish Samant remarked as per the quotes in IBTimes.

Stay updated on ‘today’s cricket news‘ with CricTracker.com.