‘Arjun bats like Sachin Tendulkar’: Yograj Singh heaps praises on Arjun Tendulkar’s batting

File image of Mumbai Indians' Arjun Tendulkar being congratulated by Rohit Sharma, as they celebrate the wicket of Sunrisers Hyderabad's Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (AP)

Former India cricketer Yograj Singh believes Arjun Tendulkar is being coached incorrectly, stating that the batting of Arjun, son of legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, is criminally underrated.

The father of star Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, Yograj feels that while excessive focus is placed on Arjun’s bowling, his real strength is his batting. Yograj revealed that Arjun attended his training camp for a few weeks, where he impressed with his batting abilities.

“You are focusing only on his bowling, what are you doing? What has happened? There are so many coaches; what are they doing? He is basically a batsman. When he came to me, he stayed for around 12–13 days. I welcomed him. They told me to take care of him, and I assured them not to worry,” Yograj Singh said in an interview with Ravish Bisht.

“One day he was hit by a ball. We took him to a doctor, and he was fine. So, I told him to put on his pads and do some batting instead. He told me they do not focus on his batting. I said we would see, because I had not seen him bat before. In the nets, he was hitting boundaries everywhere. I then asked his coach why he wasn’t being given batting practice. I also told him that Arjun is a high-quality batsman who bats like his father used to,” he continued.

Yograj also revealed that he had requested Arjun’s former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, the Mumbai Indians, to let the left-hander open in a few games, but his request was rejected.

“I told him I had never seen him bat, so we went to the indoor nets. He was on fire, hitting balls all across the park. I asked his coach, ‘Why don’t you give him the chance to bat?’ but he made excuses. I also told him that Arjun is a proper batter who plays like his father. So, Arjun batted at my academy for a week and went on to score a century in the Ranji Trophy days later. Even when he was playing for Mumbai Indians, I asked the management to let him open for a few games, but they didn’t listen,” he said.

Arjun Tendulkar currently averages 21.37 in First-Class cricket, 18.25 in List A cricket, and 13.50 in T20s. Playing for Goa, he scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut against Rajasthan in 2022 while batting at No. 7, emulating a feat also achieved by his father. Apart from a century, he also has two fifties in red-ball cricket.