Pranav’s father defends Arjun’s selection

Record breaking school cricketer Pranav Prashant Dhanawade’s father, Prashant Dhanawade, an auto-rickshaw driver in Kalyan, has clarified that Arjun Tendulkar has not been chosen for the national team.

Social media has been up in arms over Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun allegedly being chosen for the Indian Under-16 team over Pranav. Says Prashant, “Arjun’s selection is for the zonal team and not in the Indian Under-16 team,” he says and adds, “It is wrong to say that Arjun’s selection is because of his father’s big name in Indian cricket.”

Pranav, the Maharashtra schoolboy cricketer, had scored a record 1008 runs for K.C. Gandhi High School of the Kalyan administrative district in January this year. He broke the 116-year-old record of 628 not out, set by English schoolboy A.E.J. Collins in 1899.

Prashant adds, “The team for Mumbai was already selected before my son scored those 1000 runs. Only one match was left and obviously Pranav could not have been accommodated for one match after his record-breaking score. Arjun was playing better than my son at the time the selection was done. Secondly, there cannot be a comparison between Pranav and Arjun. Pranav is a wicket-keeper batsman, whereas Arjun is a bowling all-rounder. There can only be one wicket-keeper in the team. Pranav and Arjun are good friends. They have been playing together for four-five years. They speak to each other over the phone. I am happy for his (Arjun’s) selection.”