DNA EDIT: What's in a surname? Ask Arjun Tendulkar

When a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar was walking back to the dressing room, after being bowled for only 15 by Waqar Younis in his first Test innings in Karachi in November 1989, he feared that he has played his last match for India. But, after assurances from his seniors, he regained his composure and went on to play another 199 Tests over a career that is unmatched, breaking almost every batting record.

On Thursday, at the Nondescripts Cricket Club ground in Colombo, Sachin's 18-year-old son Arjun fell for a 11-ball zero batting at number 9 in the first under-19 'Test' between India and Sri Lanka.

This was enough for people to go berserk on the social media and draw comparisons between Arjun and his legendary father, who has amassed 34,347 international runs across all formats.

When Arjun walked out to bat, India U-19 were in a dominant position at 525/7 and his runs would have hardly mattered in the context of the game.

But importantly, Arjun is a left-arm pacer who is expected to take wickets. While comparisons with his illustrious father are seemingly inevitable, it is rather too harsh to rain down on the youngster after only his first innings on a big stage.

Arjun will have to live with the fact that whatever he does on the field, it will be measured against his father's statistics.

He is not the first one to be in such a situation, though. There are many instances where youngsters have had to constantly face comparisons with their illustrious fathers.

Arguably the greatest cricketer ever, Don Bradman of Australia, was the benchmark for every Aussie. So much so that even his son John Bradman, despite not being a cricketer, could not escape the public glare. Constant interruption to his privacy forced Bradman Junior to change his surname to Bradsen in an effort to escape unwanted attention before eventually restoring his famous surname.

England's Richard Hutton, an all-rounder, could hardly make an impression and faded when compared to his highly accomplished father, the legendary Len Hutton, who once held the world record for highest individual score in Tests, 364.

There are umpteen such cases in India. Sanjay Manjrekar had to eke out his own identity and emerge from the shadow of his father — Vijay Manjrekar. Ashok Mankad did not cut an impressive figure when compared with one of India's greatest all-rounders, Vinoo Mankad.

And, Rohan Gavaskar was so often compared with his father Sunil that he once said in an interview to Cricinfo, "When people ask me about my aims, my response is: 'To get three international wickets', as he (Sunil) had two. If I get even halfway close to his overall batting record, I will be very happy."

Arjun will learn to live with being constantly compared to Sachin. However, he has a good support system in his family and friend circle. As a caring father, Sachin has, time and again, requested the media to leave Arjun alone and treat him like any other cricketer.

The teenager has his whole career in front of him, and Thursday's dismissal for zero should not matter in the larger picture.

Arjun deserves to be treated like any other Under-19 cricketer — as a young talent that needs to be groomed. He should be considered as an individual in his own right. Brickbats and accolades both must wait and should never have anything to do with his surname.

Not The Only One

Aussie cricketer Don Bradman’s son, John, despite not being a cricketer, could not escape the public glare  

England’s Richard Hutton could hardly make an impression when compared to his father Len Hutton