Sachin Tendulkar gifts autographed Team India shirt to PM Narendra Modi

Saturday, 18 October 2014 03:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sachin Tendulkar, the social worker, is stepping on the gas. From Lord’s to Kerala, from Rupganj in Bangladesh to the PMO in New Delhi, the retired cricket legend continues to inspire. As a Bharat Ratna, the first Indian sportsperson ever to get this national award, Tendulkar wants to take sports to every Indian school and college. Along with wife Anjali, Tendulkar called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. They discussed sports and of course, Modi’s pet project, the Swachh Bharat initiative. The Master Blaster also gifted the Prime Minister an autographed Team India jersey.

Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar (left) along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tendulkar saw India emerge from the debilitating match-fixing scandal of 1999-2000. Tendulkar, along with Sourav Ganguly, saw the ‘birth’ of a clean bunch of Indian cricketers. The duo led a revolution in Indian cricket. Till he retired from Test cricket in November last year, Tendulkar was the elder statesman of Team India. Now, Tendulkar’s attention is on the society, the environment we live. Tendulkar apprised the Prime Minister of his contribution towards the Swachh Bharat initiative. On October 5, Tendulkar swept a road in Mumbai with a broom, days after accepting Modi’s nomination as one of the ‘ambassadors’ of the Swachh Bharat campaign. Tendulkar, 41, was one of the nine celebrities nominated by the Prime Minister to spread awareness on cleanliness when he kicked off his ambitious campaign on October 2 on the 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. “I have been entrusted the leadership role of ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign by Shri Narendra Modi. So, I am here along with my team and will clean this area,” Tendulkar said, while taking part in cleaning up the road with some youngsters. “When all of us, including my friends got the information that I have received the leadership role, all my friends came together and said we will also lend our hand towards cleanliness and will try and keep India as clean as possible,” said Tendulkar, who is also a Rajya Sabha member. Tendulkar said he looked forward to adopting a village under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. He also expressed keenness to work towards development of sports in schools and colleges. Called the ‘God of cricket for his batting records, Tendulkar rose from school cricket after an undefeated 664-run world-record partnership with Vinod Kambli for Shardashram Vidyamadir in Matunga, Mumbai in a Harris Shield match on February 24, 1988.