I Turned Down The Ad, I Said You Have To Change The Script Because This Is Disrespecting My Sport And I Worship My Sport - Sachin Tendulkar

Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsmen international cricket has ever seen. The ‘Master Blaster’ holds the record for most runs in Tests and ODIs as well as the most centuries in international cricket. Many world-class bowlers found it difficult to match Tendulkar’s brilliant strokeplay. One of his most memorable performances came in Sharjah in 1998, when he scored 143 off 131 deliveries against Australia in an ODI.

Sachin slammed 143 against an attack that included Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, and Michael Kasprowicz at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, where temperatures reached 41 degrees Celsius. Despite the fact that the century came in a losing cause against Australia in Sharjah, it became known as the ‘Desert Storm’ after play was stopped for 25 minutes.

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I Will Not Be Shooting For This Ad – Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar revealed that when he was approached for a cricket advertisement, he rejected it because it was disrespectful to the sport and had the script changed.

“It happened in 1998 after the desert storm tour in Sharjah. We came back and one of the sponsors wanted to shoot an ad where cricket balls were coming at me and with a fly swatter, I’m hitting them outside the stadium. So, I turned down the ad, I said you have to change the script because this is disrespecting my sport and I worship my sport. I will not be shooting for this ad,” Tendulkar revealed during a chat in an event organized by Infosys.

“Fortunately, they did (change the script). I don’t think that after shooting that ad, I would have been able to go back home or even go back to my coach. That wasn’t something they had taught me. They had inculcated right values and I stand by those values,” he concluded.

Sachin Tendulkar’s best year was 1998, when he scored 2541 runs from 42 innings at a combined average of 68.67 and a strike rate of 93.69, including nine ODI hundreds and three centuries. Six of his 12 centuries came against Australia, including the historic twin centuries (143 and 134) in Sharjah, 141 in Dhaka, 155 in Chennai, 100 in Kanpur, and 177 in Bengaluru.

Also read: IND vs BAN: “He Is Not One Of Those Who Have Gone Back After Scoring One” – Ajay Jadeja On Shubman Gill

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