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Mumbai Indians' (MI) left-arm seamer Arjun Tendulkar has performed well since the time he made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the five-time champions. Arjun picked his maiden IPL wicket in his second appearance for MI. Asked to bowl the final over by MI skipper Rohit Sharma against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the 23-year-old got the wicket of Bhuvneshwar Kumar to help his side win the game by 14 runs. Former cricketers, pundits and fans have showered Arjun with immense praise after he helped MI to a hard-fought win.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, however, came down hard on Arjun and opined that the young left-arm seamer has several flaws when it comes to his skill set.
"He's (Arjun) in his initial stage. He has to do a lot of hard work. His alignment isn't good, he won't be able to generate pace," Latif said on his official YouTube channel.
"If a good biomechanical consultant guides him, maybe he can add some pace to his bowling. It's quite a touchy subject, coaching and changing a player. Sachin could've done that himself but he relied on domestic cricket for that.
"Your base has to be strong. When he lands, he goes out instead of coming in. His balance isn't good, and that's impacting his pace. But again, it's still in the initial stage. He can go till 135kmph, he's a good batter. He can be a good player in 2-3 years," he added.
Latif also hinted that playing for MI with his father Sachin Tendulkar in the dugout, Arjun's attitude would be different from what it could be if he played for some other franchise in the cash-rich-tournament.
"If he was playing for some other franchise, say Sunrisers Hyderabad, his attitude would be quite different. Right now, his father is also in the dressing room. His fatherly roles should now be in his (non-cricketing) life," Latif said.
Arjun has played two matches this season and bagged one wicket at an economy rate of 7.24.
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