IPL 2022: ‘It’s about right match-ups’ — MI coach Mahela Jayawerdene on possibility of Arjun Tendulkar making his debut – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

With eight losses from the first nine matches and only two points on the board, five-time champions Mumbai Indians are virtually out of IPL 2022.

However, in a season that has brought more despair than delectation, there has been some good news for the Mumbai franchise, especially the rise of the unheralded domestic talents like Tilak Varma, Hrithik Shokeen and Kumar Kartikeya Singh.

Arjun Tendulkar of Mumbai Indians bowls during a training session. Image: Sportzpics for IPL

All three youngsters combined with useful contributions on Saturday last week as Mumbai broke their eight-game losing streak with a victory over Rajasthan Royals. While the win highlighted that the franchise has players who could become stars in the coming seasons, it also reiterated that probably it’s time for the Rohit Sharma-led team to try out more of the new players instead of established stars who have failed to perform at their best.

This could also mean that Arjun Tendulkar, son of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, could soon make his IPL debut. Mumbai coach Mahela Jayawardene was asked at a press conference on Thursday if Arjun will be making his debut against Gujarat Titans on Friday, and this is what the former cricketer said: “Well, I think everyone is the squad is an option. We will see how things go. It is about match-ups and how we can win the matches and our priority is to make sure that we get the right match-ups.

“Every game is a confidence thing, we managed to get our first win and it is about stringing wins together and get the confidence back. It is about putting the best guys in the park. If Arjun is one of them, then we will consider it, yes, but it all depends on the combination that we put out.”

Arjun, the all-rounder, has been part of the Mumbai Indians setup since 2021 when he was picked at the auctions for Rs 20 lakh. He did not play a game for MI last season before being ruled out of the 2021 edition because of an injury.

He was bought back by MI at the 2022 auctions for Rs 30 lakh. So far, Arjun has played two matches at the senior level, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2021 for Mumbai.

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