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Arjun Tendulkar bagged his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) contract last year season after being picked up by Mumbai Indians (MI). But MI decided against retaining him, with the youngster being released ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction.
Tendulkar didn't play a single IPL game last year, given the plethora of talents MI already had in their ranks. The all-rounder comes as a utility package though - he bowls left-handed and can tonk the ball lower down the order.
Arjun Tendulkar's chances at the IPL 2022 Auction
Arjun Tendulkar was recently named in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad for the 2021-22 season, before the tournament was suspended due to COVID-19. He could return to the Mumbai Indians set-up at the IPL 2022 Auction, given that he has trained with the franchise for a few years now.
That said, there will be a few teams that may not really have their eyes on Tendulkar for various reasons. Let's take a look at three such teams:
#3 Lucknow/Ahmedabad
The upcoming IPL season will see two new teams from Lucknow and Ahmedabad make their debuts. Considering that the franchisees will have to establish a brand and put together a unit from scratch, they could hinge a lot towards experienced players.
To that end, there is a chance that Arjun Tendulkar may not be in their scheme of things. While Ahmedabad could focus on local fast bowlers like Chetan Sakariya and Arzan Nagwaswalla, Lucknow could hinge towards Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shivam Mavi.
So it wouldn't be a surprise should either of the new teams not place a bid for Tendulkar at the IPL 2022 Auction.
#2 Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Reigning champions Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) tendency to pick experienced players is well documented. To that end, it is tough to see CSK pursue Arjun Tendulkar's services at the IPL 2022 Auction.
While they will look to acquire a left-arm seamer, CSK could turn to local lad T Natarajan for the same. There is also the possibility of the side going hard for Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur to regain their services at the IPL 2022 Auction.
It would be surprising, therefore, should they place a bid for Tendulkar ahead of more seasoned campaigners. Even among the younger lot, CSK might prioritize a few others in the pecking order rather than taking a punt on Tendulkar.
#1 Delhi Capitals (DC)
Delhi Capitals (DC) have retained the quartet of Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw and Anrich Nortje ahead of the mega auction. The Capitals have been a consistent outfit over the last three years and will seek to get a good chunk of their players back.
Given that one of their key forces in IPL 2021, Avesh Khan, will be up for grabs, DC will gun for him at the IPL 2022 Auction. It is tough to see them go after Arjun Tendulkar considering that they've adopted a strategy of playing two overseas seamers in their XI too.
As far as backups are concerned too, DC could well aim towards players from their catchment areas. On the fast-bowling front, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya and Simarjeet Singh fulfill this criteria. Thus, it is hard to see the Capitals lean towards Arjun Tendulkar ahead of the aforementioned players at the IPL 2022 Auction.
