IPL 2023: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma has dropped a big hint about Arjun Tendulkar making his IPL debut in the 2023 edition. Rohit Sharma has claimed that Arjun Tendulkar has recovered from the injury. He is bowling well and will resume bowling soon. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson, Mumbai Indians coach Mark Boucher is optimistic that Arjun could play at some point in the tournament. Meanwhile, the five-time champions will play their season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 2. Follow Indian Premier League 2023 Live Updates with Insidesport.IN
“Hopefully, we can close it down in the next couple of days and then we see how we will go about it. Arjun Tendulkar is playing good cricket in recent times. He was injured but today he will start bowling,” Rohit Sharma said in an MI press conference.
MI’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson have been ruled out from the IPL season 16. The pace duo’s injuries made MI’s bowling attack look even worse. However, since cricket is an unpredictable sport, one can anticipate MI to bounce back from their early setback and perform admirably in the IPL 2023.
Ahead of their first game against RCB, MI skipper Rohit Sharma said that a replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah will be decided by the team in the next few days. Bumrah has been out of action since September 2022 due to a recurring back injury and underwent surgery earlier this month.
IPL 2023: Debut of Arjun Tendulkar?
Talking about Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement and giving a chance to Arjun Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma said, “Regarding Bumrah’s replacement, we’ve been discussing a few options. We have been talking about Bumrah. He is a big miss. Jasprit Bumrah’s role was quite important for Mumbai Indians, it’s a big shoe to fill.
But it gives someone else an opportunity for the youngsters in the team to showcase their talent. We have a couple of guys who have been with this team for the last few years. They are very much ready to take the centre stage and hopefully can blood in some youngsters,” said Rohit.
Will Arjun Tendulkar Get a Chance in IPL 2023?
- Arjun has played 7 First Class matches.
- In FC’s career so far, he has scalped 12 wickets and scored 223 runs.
- The 23-year-old has played 7 List A matches.
- He has scored 25 runs and scalped 8 wickets in his List A career.
- In 9 T20 matches, Arjun has scored 20 runs and scalped 12 wickets.
- On 13 December 2022, Arjun made his first-class debut while playing against Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy.
- He smashed his maiden century, hitting 120 in 207 balls in the first inning.
Mumbai Indians coach Mark Boucher said that Arjun Tendulkar will be assessed during a practice match on Wednesday. Boucher is also optimistic that Arjun will play matches for Mumbai Indians at some point in the tournament.
“Arjun is coming off an injury. We will assess him tonight and it will be good if he is available for selection. Arjun has been playing good cricket for some time, he is bowling well, we are thinking that he will play in the playing XI this year,” said Boucher.
The 23-year-old was bought by Mumbai Indians before the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. However, he missed the tournament that year, due to an injury. In the 2022 edition of IPL, once again Arjun did not feature in any match for the Mumbai-based franchise.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians will open their IPL 2023 campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The match will be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 2. MI’s campaign has dealt with injury blows to key players. They have lost Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson ahead of the tournament. However, ace pacer Jofra Archer is all set to make a comeback.
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