Arjun Tendulkar opens up on frustration with Mumbai Indians: "No one wants to sit on bench"
Published - 01 Apr 2026, 04:30 PM | Updated - 01 Apr 2026, 04:32 PM
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Arjun Tendulkar, son of the Indian cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar, shifted from the Mumbai Indians (MI) to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), in search of more opportunities on the field. During a recent interaction, the seam bowling all-rounder revealed his frustration with getting a very limited number of matches when he was with MI.
The 26-year-old made a switch ahead of the IPL 2026 and is expected to get more match time for the Lucknow-based franchise, in comparison to his stint with the Mumbai Indians.
Arjun Tendulkar had a very limited number of chances for the Mumbai Indians
For the 5-time IPL-winning team, Arjun Tendulkar got to feature in only five matches after joining the team in 2021. He stayed there until 2025 before considering the switch. From 2021 to 2025, he played only 5 matches for MI.
In those 5 matches, the southpaw picked 3 wickets for an economy rate of 9.36. During the interaction, Arjun strongly claimed that he deserved to play more as he was doing well in moving the ball. But, as he got very inadequate chances, he had no choice but to make a move.
"You played a few matches for the Mumbai Indians (MI) and bowled well. Your swing was good, so did you feel you should have gotten more opportunities?" Arjun Tendulkar was asked the question while talking in an interview on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast.
"Who doesn't feel that? No one wants to sit on the bench. But we want to work hard and perform when we get a chance," he replied.
Arjun Tendulkar strongly criticised the controversial Impact Player rule in IPL
During the interview, the emerging cricketer was vocal against the controversial impact player rule, which is seen only in the Indian Premier League. Like multiple International cricketers, Arjun also believes that the rule is not appropriate for the game, where internationally it is still an 11 vs 11 contest. Without beating around the bush, the cricketer directly stated that he is against the Impact Player rule.
"Pick 11 and play. Because in international T20s, and in any other league, there is no Impact Player. So, I am personally against the Impact Player rule," Arjun Tendulkar said.
We have a bright chance to do well: Arjun
For the IPL 2026 season, the Lucknow Super Giants are packed with multiple world-class batters. Though their bowling and lower middle-order are looking undercooked. But Arjun feels that the team is evenly built across the departments and has a great chance to go well in the ongoing season.
"Our middle order is also very powerful. T20 is a game where anyone can beat anyone, so I think we have a bright chance to do well in this tournament," Arjun opined.
Lucknow Super Giants is all set to start their IPL 2026 campaign from today at their home ground Ekana Stadium. For their first match, they will have to face a strong Delhi Capitals side, before facing Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next fixture.
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