The Tendulkars And Other Father-Son Duos In Indian Cricket

With all the rage surrounding nepotism, a celebrity’s progeny can feel the weight of the world, and if not handled properly, even crumble under it. (More Cricket News)

In sport, however, talent outlasts name. Without ability there is only so far an individual can go, whatever their lineage.

After warming the bench for two seasons with Mumbai Indians (MI), Arjun Tendulkar, the son of India batting great Sachin Tendulkar, made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut on April 16 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Tendulkars became the first father-son pair to feature in the IPL. Arjun then bowled a commendable spell of one for 18 off 2.5 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

Arjun is a left-arm medium pace bowler and a left-hand batter, and has represented Mumbai and Goa in the domestic circuit. And like his father, he smashed a hundred on his Ranji Trophy debut. It is too early to say how far he will go from here. But he has made a start. 

In cricket on the whole several father-son duos have played at the professional level. 

Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi both represented India. Iftikhar, in fact, is the only cricketer to have played cricket for both England and India. His son MAK Pataudi went on to have a bigger legacy in comparison, being named India’s captain at the age of 21. He led his team in 40 out of the 46 Tests that he played and aggregated 2793 runs. All this despite losing his right eye in a car accident. Pataudi also led India to its first ever Test series win abroad in New Zealand in 1968.  

The Amarnaths are one of the most revered families in Indian cricket, having produced four talents. Lala Amarnath, the father of Mohinder, Rajinder and Surinder, played 24 Tests for India, etching his name in history as the first Indian batter to score a Test hundred. Surinder featured in six ODIs and ten Test matches for the country, and Rajinder played 36 first-class games.

Mohinder achieved the most glory out of all four. Not only was he one of the stars of India’s 1983 World Cup win, but also was among of the best players of express fast bowling. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan have said that for certain periods in the 1980s Amarnath was the world’s best batsman. 

Another shining example of a father-son duo in Indian cricket is Vijay and Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar Sr was one of the best Indian batsmen of his era, starting from the early 1950s till the mid 1960s. He was a fine player of fast bowling and like many batsmen who were not very tall, he was excellent at playing the cut and the hook. Manjrekar Sr played 55 Tests for India and scored seven centuries.

Not many are able to match an illustrious father in the same sport but Sanjay too had a decent India career, playing 37 Tests and 74 ODIs, including the World Cup. His four Test hundreds include a ton against the intimidating West Indies pace battery on their soil. 

Yuvraj Singh is one of the biggest match-winners that India has produced in limited-overs, having contributed heavily in the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup triumphs. His six sixes in an over by Stuart Broad at the 2007 T20 World Cup is one of the greatest displays of aggressive shot-making. Yuvraj, however, was put into cricket by his stern father Yograj Singh, a fast bowler who represented India in six ODIs and one Test.

Other father-son duos in Indian cricket include Sunil and Rohan Gavaskar, Roger and Stuart Binny, Vinoo and Ashok Mankad, and Hemant and Hrishikesh Kanitkar.

There are numerous overseas father-son pairs, too, with the likes of Chris and Stuart Broad (England), Geoff, Shaun and Mitchell Marsh (Australia), Abdul and Usman Qadir (Pakistan), Shivnarine and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) all playing for their respective countries.