Protests outside Sachin Tendulkar’s house over association with Online Gaming Ad

Legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar faced massive backlash from fans due to his association with an online gaming ad. Notably, a protest was organized by a political faction outside the cricketer’s house in Bandra.

In addition to this, the members of the protest have also threatened to go to court over the aforementioned association. This comes after Sachin became a part of the ‘Paytm First Games’, which is essentially a gaming programme that allows fans to play online games and win real cash amounts.

The protesters have asked Tendulkar to withdraw his association from the promotional campaign. However, the cricketer has not yet released any official statement regarding the same.  

As per reports, it is understood that the protests were held by the party members of Independent MLA Bachchu Kadu. The party workers who led the protests were eventually taken to the Bandra Police Station. Kadu stated that Tendulkar was issued a notice on August 30, citing Bharat Ratna awardees need to maintain a ‘code of conduct’. 

"Those who have been awarded Bharat Ratna have to follow a code of conduct. We will send a notice to Sachin Tendulkar on the 30th of August 2023. We had given him time till the 30th. Till now, he has not clarified any of his positions in this regard. So, we are going to send him a notice through a lawyer,” Kadu was quoted as saying by Times Now. 

Now in order to stop the cricket legend from promoting online gaming and curbing false influence among youth, Kadu will keep donation boxes at Ganapati Mandals and give the money to Tendulkar obtained through donations. He also requested the 50-year-old to either stop promoting online gaming or give up on his Bharat Ratna title.

He further released a video on his social media handle and expressed his reservations about the batting maestro promoting fantasy game apps. 

"Sachin Tendulkar is Bharat Ratna. It is not right for a person who has numerous fans and Bharat Ratna to advertise a gambling app like Paytm First. I request the Maharashtra Government and Sachin Tendulkar to please ban this ad immediately,” shared Kadu on his social media handle. 

For the unversed, First Games announced the news of Sachin Tendulkar joining aboard as the brand ambassador in 2020. It remains to be seen if the legendary cricketer releases an official statement regarding the same in the coming days.