Living with a Legend: Arjun Tendulkar and the Weight of a Name
As the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) players celebrated an almost improbable win, there was one player who silently played his part from the dugout – Arjun Tendulkar. Arjun hasn’t yet had an opportunity to play this season, and chances are that opportunity isn’t coming anytime soon with Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Mohammed Shami all fit. And yet he is there, with his team, doing his job. Much like any other player who continues to wait for his opportunity, Arjun too is there on the bench.
In a country that thrives on conspiracy theories, Arjun is a grim reminder that it is not always easy to deal with the weight of a surname. He is a Tendulkar, and for him to come to terms with expectations could not have been easy. No one asked him to play cricket. He did. I ca n vouch that there was never any pressure from Sachin and Anjali, and all they did was encourage the young man to pursue his dream.
It was Arjun’s call, and it is a career he has chosen. And that is where it becomes interesting. To have the Tendulkar surname brings with it a sense of expectation. As Sachin’s son, Arjun has to be of a certain standard. He cannot be just another player; he has to be a Tendulkar. The reality, however, is different. Sachin was different, and so is Arjun. To his credit, he has done things on his own terms and continues to do so.
I have known Arjun since he was a child. I remember a day when Arjun had come home after scoring a hundred in a local game. When someone buzzed Sachin from the ground floor to tell him Arjun had come, Sachin’s first reaction was, “Don’t praise him too much. He needs to stay grounded, and there is no need to say much.” I could sense there was a conscious effort to keep things a certain way. And may I say, it is not easy. He is Sachin Tendulkar, and a call from him could open many doors.
Be it Rohan Gavaskar, Abhishek Bachchan or Arjun Tendulkar, the surname does make it difficult. I am writing this piece because of the surname. There are others in the dugout as well – young, aspiring youngsters wanting to make a mark in the IPL and break into the big league. And yet they are not spoken about until they do a Mukul Chowdhury. Arjun is different because of his surname, and that is what puts pressure on the young man. No other player on that bench has half the pressure that Arjun has. There is no intense scrutiny, no unforgiving stare that says, “Arre, you are a Tendulkar, and you still are not half as good as your father!”
When you speak of mental health, spare a thought for Arjun. If he makes an IPL team, the murmur is that his father got it done. If he gets a game, it is as if Sachin has pushed for it. It cannot be easy to be a Tendulkar, and therein lies his credit. He has handled it well and, while he may not be the best cricketer, he is surely a winner in life.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news
The post Living with a Legend: Arjun Tendulkar and the Weight of a Name appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
Comments
Post a Comment