On a day when Arjun Tendulkar played his debut game in the prestigious Dr HD Kanga League — one of the oldest tournaments played on uncovered tracks — father Sachin requested media not to put his son under the microscope.
Alarmed at the growing coverage and monitoring of his son’s performance, the Master Blaster urged the media to let Arjun “fall in love with the game”.
“I’m going to take this opportunity to be a protective father. My son has played his first official club match. He is passionate; he is madly in love with cricket.
“It’s a humble request to let him live his life like a normal 14-year-old and fall in love with the sport. I would appreciate if everyone allows him to be himself,” Tendulkar said here on Sunday after receiving the award for scoring hundred international centuries by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai.
Playing for the Young Parsee Club, Arjun scored one run and was stumped after facing 12 balls against the Union Cricket Club in a ‘G’ division match held at the Azad Maidan. However, opening the bowling he struck in his second over and bowled seven overs for 35 runs. The 40-year-old citing his father’s example, who taught Marathi language and literature at the Kiri College, said he never faced any comparison while growing up.