IPL 2022 | 'It is about putting the best guys in the park' - MI head coach on Arjun Tendulkar

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene, on Thursday (May 5), while responding to questions during a media conference ahead of MI's 10th match, opened up on the possibility of the team handing a debut to Arjun Tendulkar. 

Tendulkar, who Mumbai Indians bought in the IPL 2022 auction for Rs 30 lakh, has been part of the franchise first as a net bowler in 2020 and then as a player since last year. 

The 22-year-old left-arm medium-pacer, however, didn't get a chance to showcase his bowling abilities on the biggest stage and now, with Mumbai being already knocked out of the tournament, they might look to provide him with an opportunity to test their bench strength in their remaining games.

"Well, I think everyone in the squad is an option. We will see how things go. It is about match-ups, and how we can win the matches, and our priority is to make sure that we get the right match-ups," Jayawardene said.

"Every game is a confidence thing, we managed to get our first win, and it is about stringing wins together and getting the confidence back. It is about putting the best guys in the park. If Arjun is one of them, then we will consider it, yes, but it all depends on the combination that we put out," the MI head coach added.

The seam-bowling all-rounder made his T20 debut for Mumbai in 2021 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and has played two matches where he picked two wickets against Haryana and Puducherry. 

As far as the five-time champions Mumbai Indians are concerned, they are having a horrendous season as they become the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. They could manage only one win from nine games so far and are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table. 

Mumbai had no chance to make it through to the IPL 2022 playoffs following the eighth straight loss. However, they recorded their first win of the ongoing edition in their most recent encounter against the Rajasthan Royals. 

Now, as they are already eliminated from the tournament, they will look to spoil the other party's game.