Sachin Tendulkar sat in the dressing room instead of team dug-out as he didn’t want son Arjun to deviate from his plans on his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders. The 23-year-old left-arm seamer had figures of 0 for 17 in 2 overs with six dot balls after stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav handed him the new ball on Sunday. “It was a great moment. A special one to play for the team that I supported since 2008 and it was nice to get the cap from captain of MI and Indian team,” Arjun, who plays first-class cricket for Goa, told IPLT20.com.

Arjun Tendulkar made his IPL debut for @mipaltan on Sunday as the legendary @sachin_rt watched his son from the confines of the dressing room

Here is the father-son duo expressing their emotions after what was a proud moment for the Tendulkar household- By @28anand pic.twitter.com/Lb6isgA6eH

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2023

For the legendary father, it was the first time that he watched his son play a competitive game.

“This was a new experience for me because till now I have not actually gone and watched him play. I wanted him to have the freedom to go out and express himself, and do whatever he wanted to,” Tendulkar said after Mumbai Indians’ seven-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

However during the initial part of KKR’s innings, Tendulkar didn’t sit in the dug-out outside the boundary line as it could have made Arjun conscious.

“Today, also I sat in dressing room as I didn’t want him (Arjun) to move away from his plans and start looking at mega screen and suddenly realise that I am watching him, so I was inside.” For the father, it was an emotional journey as he recollected his 16-year association with the franchise — six years as player and last 10 as a ‘Mentor’.

“Different feeling because 2008 was first season for me and 16 years down the line, he plays for the same team, not bad,” he concluded.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)