![Arjun Tendulkar [Source: @MIPaltanFamily/x]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1763217008404_arjun_tendulkar.jpg?type=hq)
Arjun Tendulkar [Source: @MIPaltanFamily/x]
Arjun Tendulkar is set to enter the IPL 2026 season next year at a fascinating crossroads. A young left-arm fast bowler who has seen more learning curves than game time in the world’s toughest and most lucrative T20 league, Tendulkar junior will now be making way from the iconic Mumbai Indians blue for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) jersey.
Now at LSG, he steps into a setup where the competition for match time will not be as suffocating, at least not as much as it was with the Mumbai Indians. Also, with a heavier domestic workload behind him ever since shifting his base to Goa, Arjun Tendulkar arrives better prepared for a role that could finally stretch beyond brief IPL cameos.
Here, we decode how Arjun Tendulkar is primed for his breakthrough IPL season next year.
Sparse MI opportunities create space for a fresh start
Arjun Tendulkar was first picked by the Mumbai Indians franchise back during the IPL 2021 auction for a sum of Rs. 20 lakhs. While his pay day increase by Rs. 10 lakh the following season, he only received his first crack at the Mumbai Indians playing XI in IPL 2023.
Tendulkar ended up playing four matches for them that year, picked up three wickets at 30.66 and delivered a tight match-winning final over against Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 25 of the competition, finishing with figures of 1-18.
A solitary and a wicketless outing in IPL 2024, followed by spending the entirety of the IPL 2025 season earlier this year on the sidelines ensured Arjun Tendulkar capped his Mumbai Indians career with just five games in five years.
And rightfully so, considering the speedster was surrounded by some of the biggest international pace heavyweights like Jasprit Bumrah, fast bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya; and occasionally with the likes of Trent Boult, Marco Jansen and Jofra Archer among others.
Arjun Tendulkar IPL stats for Mumbai Indians
| Criterion | Stats |
| Matches | 5 |
| Wickets | 3 |
| Average | 38.0 |
| Best bowling | 1-9 |
At the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise, Arjun Tendulkar is bound to find a clearer pathway to consistent match time than he ever had in Mumbai Indians. Moreover, he will also be joined by fellow franchise newcomer and legendary Indian paceman Mohammed Shami, an omnipotent presence that could offer him a valuable learning curve without limiting his opportunities.
His other pace mates in IPL 2026 at the LSG camp includes fellow uncapped stars Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Indian international Avesh Khan.
Goa domestic workload positions Arjun Tendulkar for a bigger role
Arjun Tendulkar will also storm into the IPL 2026 season for the LSG franchise, banking a heavier domestic experience than before. After receiving limited opportunities in the Mumbai team in his first Indian domestic season back in 2020-21, the aspiring speedster decided to shift his domestic base to Goa.
He made his Goa debut with a List A game during the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy in November 2022, and delivered three tight overs before rains called off play. The following month, Arjun Tendulkar donned the whites for Goa for the very first time, and celebrated the occasion by earning three hard-fought wickets in a high-scoring draw at Porvorim.
In T20 cricket alone, Arjun Tendulkar has played 24 games and has picked up 27 wickets at an average of 25.07 with a strike rate of 17.1. Although, he played the last of those matches roughly a year ago at Hyderabad.
Nonetheless, his recent first-class returns for Goa, marked by longer spells and growing confidence with the new ball, places him in good stead for a bigger and more sustained role at LSG.
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