Arjun Tendulkar, the son of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, has not yet played senior cricket. The left-arm pacer has made a mark in Under-19 and other age cricket but has not yet played in IPL 2020. However, a photo circulated yesterday on social media showed Arjun Tendulkar with the Mumbai Indians side in Abu Dhabi. In the photo, he is in the swimming pool and enjoying his time with the likes of Trent Boult and James Pattinson as well as other Indian cricketers.

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The photo has raised some questions. Is Arjun Tendulkar going to make his debut in IPL 2020 for the Mumbai Indians? Is he going to play for Mumbai Indians? With the fact that he has not played any form of senior cricket, can he directly play the IPL?

Nepotism or eligible?

Some social media users stirred up the nepotism debate, with Arjun being the son of Sachin Tendulkar. However, a quick fact check reveals that Arjun Tendulkar is in the UAE as one of the net bowlers for Mumbai Indians. The four-time champions have not yet signed him up but one cannot rule out the possibility of Arjun Tendulkar playing in the IPL.

Although Arjun wasn’t a part of IPL 2020 auction, he can still be picked by Mumbai Indians as a replacement player. Considering the SOPs and rules, the BCCI might allow franchises to rope in replacement players during the course of the tournament. Due to dearth of net bowlers, all IPL franchises have flown their own set of bowlers to the UAE.

Arjun Tendulkar has had limited impact in Under-19 cricket. He played for the MCC Young Cricketers Club in 2019 and has broken into the India and Mumbai Under-19 squads. However, he made headlines in 2017 when he injured Jonny Bairstow in 2017 with a yorker. Bairstow hobbled off practice and this earned praise from former Pakistan left-arm quick Wasim Akram.