Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody believes that Arjun Tendulkar is sort of a surplus to Mumbai Indians' resources and as a result, it is not guaranteed that the youngster will get to complete his full quota of four overs on a regular basis. Tendulkar bowled two overs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 encounter against Gujarat Titans and although he conceded just nine runs, he was not given a second spell in the final overs. The MI attack was taken to the cleaners by Abhinav Manohar and David Miller as the defending champions posted a huge total of 206.
While several fans expressed their surprise at Tendulkar not getting more overs, Moody believed that it was the right decision to give him a small spell and not risk exposing him too much.
“You can't guarantee that the third over will be met. Even the very best bowlers, the most experienced bowlers… when you get greedy and think, 'let's just try and get that extra over', more often than not, they get lined up,” Moody told ESPNCricinfo after the IPL encounter.
Both Riley Meredith and Cameron Green went for a lot of runs in the final overs but Moody once again backed MI to stick to their plan and not experiment with a relatively new talent like Tendulkar.
“Tendulkar did his job. Again, he's a recipient of the sub. He's the extra bowler. And the extra bowler doesn't have to complete four (overs). He has contributed well at the top, took a wicket and gave 9 overs. You can't argue when the cows come home, ‘oh he should've bowled the death over instead of Green!'. Green's the international bowler, and he has bowled poorly,” Moody further said.
GT defeated MI by 55 runs thanks to brilliant bowling performances from Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed.