R Ashwin and Arjun Tendulkar NEW DELHI: Debate has erupted over Arjun Tendulkar’s chances in IPL 2026 after Ravichandran Ashwin said the youngster is unlikely to play for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). With a strong pace attack already in place, Ashwin felt that Arjun would look to break into the playing XI.Talking about the team combination, Ashwin said, “Arjun Tendulkar khelega hi nahi (Arjun Tendulkar won’t play at all) and let’s not even go there. I think it’s very difficult because Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan and Mohammad Shami are in this line-up. If he doesn’t play so many fast players, until there are no cases of injury.”
Watch
Impact Player Rule: Game Changer or All-Round Killer?His blunt approach did not go down well with former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh who heavily criticized Ashwin for his comments.Powerful answer by Yograj SinghSpeaking to InsideSport, Yograj, father of superstar cricketer Yuvraj Singh, said: “He is talking rubbish, that guy, R Ashwin, whoever he is. He should know what to talk about. Someone is sitting on TV saying, ‘Oh, he can’t do it, he can’t do it’. Who are you?”He also shared his own views on Arjun’s skills and said, “He is Sachin Tendulkar’s son, that’s a different story. When he was here, I told Yuvi that you all are focusing wrongly on Arjun Tendulkar. “He is not a bowler, he had a problem with his spine and his hands fell from 45 degrees. I spoke to him when he was here. I also told his coach when he was with the Goa team.”Bolstering his confidence, Yograj added, “If you can’t do it. Send him to me, I challenge the whole world that if Arjun Tendulkar spends six months with me, he will beat all the batsmen in this world. If not, I will cut my beard and throw it away.”LSG Squad (* denotes overseas players): Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram*, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshin Kulkarni, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke*, Mayank Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mitchell Yadav Khan*, Moh Podava Prince Nicholas Pant, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Inglis*, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Anrich Nortje*, Wanindu Hasaranga*, Naman Tiwari.
