Shiv Sena takes on Sachin Tendulkar again

 

Sachin Tendulkar

Pune: Hailing Sunil Gavaskar as a “true Maharashtrian,” the Shiv Sena again criticised Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday.

In an article in the party mouthpiece Saamna, Sena MP Sanjay Raut wrote: “There has been no instance of Sachin extending a helping hand to other Marathi cricketers. Forget others, he did not even support Vinod Kambli.”

“In contrast, Gavaskar, when he captained India, had half the team drawn from Mumbai and Maharashtra. He gave Test caps to many Marathi players, including Suru Naik and Zulphikar Parkar, at least for one match,” Mr. Raut said, while also acknowledging Tendulkar’s greatness as a cricketer.

“In this context, Gavaskar is a genuine ‘Maharashtrian’ and the whole country loves him even now in the same way,” the article claimed.

“Players like Sachin have become rich because of the game of cricket. Sachin’s wealth has crossed Rs. 200-crore mark. We expect Sachin to be as ‘proud’ of Maharashtra as Saurav Ganguly is of Bengal,” the article said.

“Rahul Dravid too is a Marathi player but he is loyal to Karnataka,” Mr. Raut said.

The attack came days after party supremo Bal Thackeray accused the 36-year-old cricket icon of hurting Marathi sentiments with his “Mumbai for all” remark.

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