Arjun Tendulkar, son of India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, is yet to get a game this season in the IPL for his new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, but he found strong traction at the T20 Mumbai League, which held its fourth auction on Saturday. The all-rounder, who now represents Goa in domestic cricket, emerged among the top buys as he was signed for an amount equivalent to 33 per cent of his current IPL deal with LSG.
The 26-year-old, who was cleared by the BCCI for the auction and the tournament owing to his absence from any state association’s T20 competition in the last 12 months, was roped in by Arcs Andheri for ₹10 lakh — one-third of his current IPL salary of ₹30 lakh. He was traded to LSG from Mumbai Indians ahead of the start of this IPL season.
The final auction price, however, represents a 400 per cent increase on his base price of ₹2 lakh, as the T20 Mumbai League witnessed a strong bidding war for Arjun.
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The left-arm pacer had initially joined Mumbai Indians after being picked at the IPL auction for ₹20 lakh in 2021, but was ruled out of that season due to injury. He was reacquired the following year but had to wait another season for his IPL debut. He played four matches in 2023, picking up three wickets. Mumbai retained him for the next season but handed him just one appearance, where he went wicketless for 22 runs in two overs.
Despite limited IPL opportunities, Arjun has been a regular in domestic cricket. He has featured in 24 First-Class matches, as many List A games, and 29 T20s since his debut in 2021 for Mumbai and Goa. He has picked up 52 wickets, including a five-wicket haul in red-ball cricket, and scored 685 runs, including a century.
The Mumbai League will also feature several India stars who were named Icon players and retained by their franchises ahead of the auction. The list includes Suryakumar Yadav (Triumph Knights Mumbai North East), Shreyas Iyer (SoBo Mumbai Falcons), and Ajinkya Rahane (North Mumbai Panthers).
Others on the list include Shivam Dube (Arcs Andheri), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Bandra Blasters), Shardul Thakur (Eagle Thane Strikers), Sarfaraz Khan (Aakash Tigers), and Tushar Deshpande (MSC Maratha Royals).
While Arjun was among the top buys at the men’s auction, Akash Parkar fetched the highest bid after being signed by SoBo Mumbai Falcons for ₹12 lakh. Prasad Pawar ( ₹11.50 lakh) and Musheer Khan ( ₹11 lakh) were picked up by Arcs Andheri.