Condemned for silence on Wasim Jaffer controversy, Sachin Tendulkar singles out Mohammed Siraj for praise; faces grief from fans

By
JKR Staff
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3

Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has singled out Mohammed Siraj for appreciation on the way the young Indian cricketer celebrated Ravichandran Ashwin’s 100 in the second Test against England in Chennai recently. Tendulkar’s praise for Siraj came days after he faced widespread condemnation for not supporting his former teammate, Wasim Jaffer, when he was being hounded by the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand for his faith.

Mohammed Siraj was at the non-striker’s end when Ashwin completed his impressive century. The boy from Hyderabad reacted in jubilation even though his partner had achieved a milestone. His ecstatic reaction was as if it was he, who had scored the century.

Sharing a video of that celebration, Tendulkar wrote, “.@mdsirajofficial’s reaction to @ashwinravi99 getting to his century was very interesting & I thoroughly enjoyed that. This is what Team Sport is all about…. enjoying and being a part of your teammates’ success. Proud of you Siraj & #TeamIndia!”

But many felt that the former India cricketer was merely trying to redeem himself for his silence on the Wasim Jaffer controversy. One fan sarcastically asked Tendulkar on Twitter if the BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, the son of India’s Home Minister Amit Shah, had ‘given you the password back, thank God.’

One fan asked, “Can you please talk about @WasimJaffer14? Your teammate from Mumbai. Don’t you want to support him.” Another replied, “He wont.. When someone from BJP IT cell need forward a msg.. Then he will copy paste it here..” “Sachin’s first tweet after he became sanghi,” wrote another fan.

Tendulkar was one of the few Indian celebrities, who had wasted no time in parroting the Indian government’s line to counter Rihanna’s tweet asking why no one was talking about the crackdown against the protesting farmers near the Delhi borders. Days later, it had emerged that his son Arjun Tendulkar had registered himself for this month’s IPL auction despite having no substantial first-class experience in the T20 format. Arjun is widely speculated to be bought by Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians even though he lacks any substantial experience in the T20 format.

However, days later, when his former teammate Wasim Jaffer faced serious allegations of being a communal for his decision to question the interference by the Uttarakhand cricket body in team selection, Tendulkar had chosen to remain silent. Several other former cricketers such as Anil Kumble, Chandrakant Pandit, Irfan Pathan, Dodda Ganesh, Manoj Tiwari and Mohammed Kaif had rallied behind Jaffer.

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