Sachin Tendulkar is one of the
greatest cricket players ever, a titan
in his sport. But poor Maria Sharapova
had never heard of him, never
heard of a man who is so beloved in India, he
could endorse a brand of darkness cream and millions
of people would buy it.
The Russian tennis star had just lost a match
at Wimbledon and was asked about Tendulkar, who
happened to be in a star-studded gallery watching
her. Sharapova made the mistake of admitting that
she didn’t recognize the recently retired batsman.
The legend’s fans were aghast at this indignity to
their hero and lashed out at Sharapova on Facebook,
Twitter, and other social media.
But it’s hard to fault Sharapova for not recognizing
Tendulkar, as magnificent as he is. Cricket,
after all, isn’t quite as popular as tennis or football
around the world. Tendulkar is surely as accomplished
in cricket as Roger Federer in tennis or Lionel
Messi in football, but he’s virtually unknown
in dozens of countries, including the two countries
where Sharapova has spent most of her life, the
United States and Russia.
When Tendulkar is mobbed by autograph
seekers while visiting New York City, you can bet
at least half of them are immigrants from India, Sri
Lanka, Guyana, and other cricket-playing nations,
while the other half aren’t quite sure who he is.
Man: “Hey, that guy must be famous. Everyone’s
going crazy. Let’s get his autograph!”
Woman: “Who do you think he is?”
Man: “I’m not sure, but I think he’s that guy
from Slumdog Millionaire, Anil Kapoor.