How Yograj Singh trained Arjun Tendulkar before his Ranji Trophy debut

Thirty-four years after batting great Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden first-class century on debut, his son Arjun celebrated the same achievement in the Ranji Trophy on Wednesday.

Playing for Goa against Rajasthan, Arjun struck 120 runs off 207 balls, smashing 16 fours and two sixes on day two of their first innings. The 23-year-old, whose primary role is of a fast bowler, produced the impressive performance after coming in to bat at no. 7.

Arjun Tendulkar had moved from Mumbai to Goa at the start of the season in search of more opportunities.


Arjun trained under the watchful eye of Yograj Singh, the father of the great Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. In a recent interview, Yograj Singh talked about how he received a call from his son Yuvraj who told him that Sachin Tendulkar had asked him to take Arjun under his wing.

He couldn't decline Sachin's request because he was like a son to him, but he was pretty adamant that Arjun should be trained without any outside interference.

He received a call from Yuvraj in the first week of September when he told him that Arjun would be in Chandigarh for a couple of weeks, and Sachin had requested him to train Arjun if he had the time. He immediately agreed to it as he could never deny Sachin's request. Still, he had one condition, which he communicated with Yuvraj that he would not tolerate any external inference and would train him independently.

Yograj claimed that the two-week training was more like a boot camp. He told Arjun that he should forget that he is the son of the legendary batsman. He believed that coaches treated him differently because he was Sachin's son and wanted him to escape his father's shadow.

Q. How much did Arjun score in his Ranji debut?
A. He scored 120 in 207 balls for Goa.

Q. When did Sachin play his Ranji debut?
A. Sachin played his debut match in 1988 as a 15-yr-old.