When a son of legendary cricketer chooses to follow his father’s footsteps, he not only has a name to live up to but also carries people’s expectations for him to continue the legacy of his father. Players often fail to live up to the expectations, while only a few are able to make a distinct identity. There have been players like Rohan Gavaskar and Stuart Binny who have had a tough time in international cricket and then there was Mohinder Amarnath who made his father Lala Amarnath proud by featuring in India’s first World Cup-winning squad in 1983.
Here’s a look at the Indian cricketers’ sons who might make it big in the future-
Arjun Tendulkar
The young lad carries an immense pressure on his shoulders, more than any sportsperson’s son in the world, being the son of Sachin Tendulkar – a legendary cricketer who dominated the world cricket for two decades. Arjun is one of the promising young talents, who will be eyeing to make it into the Under-19 squad of India in the near future.
The 17-year-old is already famous for injuring English batsman Jonny Bairstow in the nets and for helping Indian women cricketers prepare during recently concluded ICC Women World Cup 2017. Unlike a batsman like his father, Arjun is a left-arm fast bowler who has been often compared to Zaheer Khan for his pace.
At his age, his father had already started playing in the big leagues. Arjun would hope to stamp his claim in near future by making a name in Ranji Trophy and other prestigious trophies like Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the domestic circuit.
Sachin Tendulkar has often said that Arjun needs be left alone and that the media should not burden his mad-for-cricket son with expectations.
Samit Dravid
Rahul Dravid aka ‘The Wall’ was one of the best cricketers to play for India. His resilience and will to stay on the crease were unmatched whenever he played overseas. His son Samit Dravid made headlines in April 2016 when he scored 125 with 12 boundaries and formed a partnership of 213 runs with Pratyush Girish.
Though Dravid Jr. follows a disciplined lifestyle similar to that of his father, but not so on the cricket field. Samit seems to be an attacking batsman unlike his father, who played reservedly and played in attacking mode on only a few occasions.
Though the 11-year-old has a lot to learn, he has shown the spark that his father had and put up a great promise for the future of Indian cricket. Even Sri Lanka’s legendary spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, felt that he saw a few traces of Rahul in Samit.
Aryavir Sehwag
Though comparing Aryavir Sehwag to his father will be premature, but the former showed glimpses of his father while playing for Sehwag Academy against Udaybhan Academy. Sehwag scored an aggressive 51 in the top order and also picked up 2 wickets for 32 runs, which turned out to be a match-winning effort.
Aryavir will be turning 10 this October. He recently interviewed Virat Kohli & Co during ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and ruled the internet with witty questions and one-liners which his father is also known for. He also asked Kohli whether he could play for India in 2023 World Cup to which Kohli replied that ‘anything is possible’.
Aryavir has a long way to go. Once he comes under the limelight, he will be expected to meet the benchmark set by his father which is never going to be an easy task. Though we hope he shows a talent similar to that of his father’s, it will be on Aryavir to bring his own to the game and create his marquee.
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