Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar has found a place in the India Under-19 squad for the two four-day matches in Sri Lanka next month.
Arjun, a left-arm seamer, was a part of the Mumbai Under-19 squad last year in the Cooch Behar Trophy where he impressed with 18 wickets.
The 18-year-old has also regularly featured in net sessions involving international teams in recent times including the one in England where he yorked Jonny Bairstow to cause an injury scare ahead of the Test match against South Africa at Lord's last year.
Arjun has only been named in the four-day squad, which will be led by Delhi's Anuj Rawat.
Aryan Juyal will lead the one-day squad in the five-match series. With the Indian 'A' team scheduled to tour England during the same period, WV Raman will take over the coaching duties from Under-19 World Cup winning coach Rahul Dravid.
Reacting to the development, Tendulkar said, "We are happy on Arjun being selected in Indian Under-19 team. It is an important milestone in his cricketing life. Anjali and I will always support Arjun in his choices and pray for his success.”
Mumbai under-19 coach Satish Samant has been really impressed with Arjun’s bowling this season.
“There’s been a vast improvement in pace over the last 5-6 months. In terms of swing, especially bringing the ball back into the right-hander, he’s become a lot more accurate and hits the right areas. He’s also got a deceptive bouncer. His overall skills are good. He has got a good yorker and a slower one from the back of the hand. It was only a question of consistency. It will come with practice. He was generating more pace and carry than the others,” said Samant.
(With IANS inputs)