Rohit Sharma hints Arjun Tendulkar may make his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals

Mumbai Indians’ disappointing 2022 season was marred with yet another heartbreak as the men in blue-and-gold copped a 4-run defeat against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. The loss has virtually guaranteed the five-time IPL champs the wooden spoon for this year. 

Mumbai’s main players have been inconsistent this year

The MI contingent has had no dearth of problems in team selection this year, but arguably, the biggest issue for them has been their marquee players’ inconsistency. Captain Rohit Sharma has struggled big time to score runs all through the season. Ishan Kishan- the team’s most expensive acquisition from the 2022 auctions- has not been able to maintain a good strike rate. Jasprit Bumrah has looked unnaturally inconsistent, while Kieron Pollard has ‘willingly’ dropped himself from the playing XI altogether. 

As a result, Mumbai has had to try out several new faces this time around; many of whom have given good glimpses of the immense potential that they hold. Tilak Verma and Dewald Brevis have batted with great maturity. The likes of Daniel Sams and Tim David- after having a sedate start to the tournament- have managed to come back strongly. A lot of the local youngsters like Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, and Ramandeep Singh have also been impressive. 

Only 4 players haven’t played for MI this season

As it stands at the moment, MI have tried 21 out of the 25 members of their squad. One prominent name among the four guys who’ve warmed benches for MI all throughout is Arjun Tendulkar, son of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar.

On several occasions this year, Mumbai’s pace attack has been found wanting a pace bowler who can compliment Bumrah. Arjun- with his burgeoning prowess in bowling left-arm pace- has often been floated around as a potential option to assume that role. Yet it has been 13 matches into this season, and MI are yet to play him and the likes of Aryan Juyal, Rahul Buddhi, and Akash Madhwal. 

Rohit Sharma hints at Arjun Tendulkar’s debt vs Delhi Capitals

But it seems like the wait for Arjun and the other untested MI players might finally be over in the next match. While addressing the commentator at the start of the game, captain Rohit revealed that MI is primarily looking to try out players for the next season.

“We want to look at certain players with an eye on next year. The team is trying to have a look at them before making a decision for next year. It is important that the core group plays. We want to keep certain aspects of our Mumbai team.”

And while he reaffirmed the importance of fielding a core group of Mumbai players, what got fans really excited was when he further said: “We have one more game after this, and we can try a few more guys in that game.”

Social media reactions

Seconds after Rohit’s statement, social media was buzzing with fans making speculations that Arjun would finally get to make his IPL debut in MI’s final match against the Delhi Capitals. While a lot of people were excited to see MI groom a youngster, many were unconvinced due to Arjun’s lack of senior cricket experience. The 22-year-old is just over a year old in the professional cricket circle, having made his debut in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. He was bought by Mumbai in the auctions for INR 30 lakhs.

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Here are some of the best reactions to Rohit Sharma’s pre-match comments