Aug 29, 2003 05:37 PM
6588 Views
(Updated Aug 29, 2003 05:42 PM)
I am an ardent admirer of Sachin's game but sadly this fracas about 'waiving off customs duty'' has redeemed his reputation and self-respect in my eyes.Like me,there are thousands of people who follow the game and consider Sachin as an icon. Sachin is the richest Indian sportsman and owns a number of luxury cars.Sachin comes from a middle-class background but unfortunately he does not empathize with the middle-class problems.When I pay tax,where does this go - definitely not towards roads -because they are still full of potholes and bumpy –oh yeah,now I know where they go !!
Sachin Tendulkar's request to the finance minister to waive custom duties worth Rs 1.5 crore on his Ferrari sports car is a misuse of his 'stature' in a cricket-crazy nation.Whether Tendulkar should pay the duty on his car or not is for the court to decide. However, his fan club is reducing in numbers, to say the least.
Sachin is no longer the ‘darling of the masses’ and the ‘Sachin-can-do-no-wrong’ times are over.
There is no denying the fact that Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman a lot of us have ever seen and will easily make a short list of the 10 greatest of all time.There are many arguments going around about the Ferrari being given to Sachin as a ‘gift’ or as some would say ‘prize’. I strongly say it is neither. To a few Sachin fans,the waiver has been justified as recognition of Tendulkar's enormous contribution to cricket. Well, it is not as simple as the Indian public thinks it to be. Tendulkar did not win the Ferrari as a prize. Ravi Shastri won an Audi in the 1985 Benson and Hedges Cup for his brilliant fielding . The Audi could have gone to another player. More importantly, Shastri did not endorse any of the Audi products as Audi was not selling cars in India nor had plans to do so. It still does not have. The logic seen in the case of Tendulkar and the Ferrari car is different. Palio and Siena are owned by Fiat and everybody knows the successful endorsement story of Tendulkar for Fiat company- the Palio. Before Palio, Fiat's initiatives in India with both Uno and Sienna just bombed until Sachin arrived on the scene to rescue Fiat with Palio endorsement. His appearance pushed up the sales for Sienna too. Our ‘golden’ boy of Indian cricket makes Rs.1 crore per endorsement and there are some crazy people in this country who think he should make more !!Simply put, the whole thing is a promotional exercise by Fiat to make a propaganda about Sachin’s 100th Test appearance.
So, to sum it up, the Ferrari car must be seen as part of Tendulkar's earnings, and not a gift.
Tendulkar should not forget that if he has given a lot to cricket then it is cricket which has made him super-rich. He is in a financial position to pay the customs duty and it is deplorable on his part to ‘beg’ for a waiver .
About his contribution to cricket as an individual for personal records –yes, but as far as winning the World cup or winning matches for India overseas when it mattered - rarely.
Can Mr.Tendulkar take cue from that wonderful cricketer and human being called Steve Waugh?
There is no reason why Steve Waugh should do what he is doing for those children in Kolkata but there is definitely a reason behind Tendulkar’s request – GREED.
