Sharapova targeted for 'snubbing' Tendulkar

E-Paper | April 24, 2026

NEW DELHI: Outraged Indian cricket fans have left thousands of angry messages on Maria Sharapova's Facebook page after she admitted to not recognising cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar, considered a demi-god in his home country and an all-time great of the game by most fans, was among a star-studded crowd that watched Sharapova at Wimbledon last Saturday.

When asked if she recognised the recently retired batsman, seated next to former English cricket captain Andrew Strauss and football star David Beckham, she reportedly replied that she did not.

“I was one of the biggest fans of you as a tennis star but now I will never see your matches,” wrote Vivek Kumar Pandey in one of the milder messages on the Russian tennis player's Facebook page.

Others used foul language and made threats, while Twitter users took up the tongue-in-cheek #whoismariasharapova hashtag which began trending.

For some, the hurt pride was misplaced.

“Why splutter over Sharapova not knowing Sachin?” leading TV presenter Barkha Dutt wrote on Twitter on Friday.

“Does it matter? Doesn't diminish him. But makes us sound insecure.”

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Akram

Jul 04, 2014 12:14pm

Barkha Dutt is right. It does make you sound insecure.

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Ameer

Jul 04, 2014 12:16pm

I think I'll pass out with laughter.

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Faruq

Jul 04, 2014 12:18pm

Why should a Russian tennis player care who Tendulkar is? The question was probably unnecessary and the reactions seem quite petty.

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faisal baloch

Jul 04, 2014 12:20pm

this is rubbish from indian fans. of course no one outside cricket nation even knows sachin and indians should not be disappointed knowing that. this once again shows that in cricket world, the only person who is still recognised far better than any one is imran khan, as even in non cricket nation, he is known by many.

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Gaurav Arya

Jul 04, 2014 12:21pm

Indian friends, lets just chill. I love Sachin as much as any other fan but lets give the lady the benefit of the doubt. Its all right if she does not know Sachin. She is a global sports star and what good would it do to her to snub Tendulkar? And come on guys, its not compulsory to know Tendulkar. He is not the Capital of India (at least not yet).

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UFO

Jul 04, 2014 12:24pm

Who is this lady, and who is this guy snubbed by her?

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Faisal Tanveer

Jul 04, 2014 12:31pm

Indian friends, I hope you don't mind me asking, but who is this Tendulkar guy ?

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Ijaz

Jul 04, 2014 12:32pm

Just a question to all Indians How popular is "Cricket" in Russia for Sharapova to know an Indian cricket star?

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Hamana

Jul 04, 2014 12:33pm

Well, why does her honesty be taken so negatively.

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Jack E.

Jul 04, 2014 12:41pm

Cricket is hardly popular outside england and the countries that was once under its occupation. It is not like football for example. I think it is stupid really to make a fuss because Sachin is not known. I mean come on for God sake he is not really known.

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Khalid

Jul 04, 2014 12:55pm

Barkha is absolutely right. I don't know any table tennis world champions and neither do I know who is the world number one in squash. Why should that matter?. I bet not one Russian plays cricket in Russia then how would the children know what cricket is and who are the stars of this game?. Tendulkar is loved by every cricket loving person but his followers need to be a bit more tolerant, like he is.

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Dajjal

Jul 04, 2014 12:57pm

Well, they all look the same to her.... so it could have been anyone...

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Muneeb Dilshad

Jul 04, 2014 01:00pm

Now Tendulkar should be a man & publicly ask his fans not to abuse her. There are so many who don't follow cricket & must not know who he is.

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Haroon Usman

Jul 04, 2014 01:04pm

Trust me ...some indians must have paid the reporter to ask this terndulkar question...as a celebrity stunt...but it back fired...remember once michael schumacher gifted tendulkar a ferrari,how would schmacher know tendulkar, or cricket too...its inferiority complex that indians suffer with...and it always lands them in embarrasing situations...

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Akram

Jul 04, 2014 01:04pm

to Indian cricket fans, no one in the west knows who sachin tendulkar is, except the handful of us who watch cricket. No one!

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Sunil

Jul 04, 2014 01:09pm

What a big deal, for the Indian fans being outraged against Sharapova. Many Indians in remote villages, like Manipur, Tripure, Nagaland, do not know Sachin Tendulkar. Maria Sharapova is from Russia, and they dont play cricket.

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Manjul

Jul 04, 2014 01:11pm

I am a big fan of Sachin....but have no issues on that .....just like we don't know the superstar of Rugby or Baseball....

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syed

Jul 04, 2014 01:20pm

so what? I bet many Indians don't know who sharapova is !!

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awan

Jul 04, 2014 01:28pm

Well a classic question to south asians... how many players are in a rugby team? Well honestly you are supposed not to know this....

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Akhtar Hassan

Jul 04, 2014 02:00pm

@Haroon Usman ... It did not fire back. Now Sharapova and many others know who this unknown guy Tendulkar is. For me Sharapova is a greater star than Tendulkar as she is well known everywhere in the world.

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syed

Jul 04, 2014 02:02pm

She might not know who is pm of india does it matter?

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Nafisa

Jul 04, 2014 02:05pm

It's o.k, move on please.

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K G Surendran

Jul 04, 2014 02:10pm

Some Indian fans overreacting unnecessarily, cricket is played among a handful of nations (eight) and is hardly recognized in other countries. A Messi or Ronaldo or a Neymar are household names across the world because of the popularity of football. Since India does not have too many sporting icons, any slight is taken emotionally.

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mani

Jul 04, 2014 02:11pm

Wait up guys. Now that Srni has taken up ICC leadership, even fewer people will know about your hero's. It's beginning of the end of cricket.

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NHM

Jul 04, 2014 02:18pm

Is this news worthy?

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Asif

Jul 04, 2014 02:28pm

Very funny, amusing and loved her reply! She is amazing!

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Manish

Jul 04, 2014 02:36pm

Even if some sport is not popular in your country that doesnt mean you dont know living legends in particular sport. Boxing, F1, football, golf are few that has dominance from another region, yet we all know their all time best. This statement is true for general public who is not professional sports person, but it is highly unlikely that a sport person like sharapova who should definitely be reading sports magazines or sports sections in newpaper, doesnt know about cricket is and living legend of this game. The gesture that sharapova had shown is either idiotic or racist. What few of blinded Indian are doing at her Facebook and twitter page is absolutely wrong. But it definitely hurt us who are fan of her and feel cheated in some way.

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Mansoor

Jul 04, 2014 02:53pm

so what's the fuss if she didn't know tendulkar. most supporters of tendulkar also didn't know the current Formula-1 champions name either. Every person follows his/her favourite sport. no one can follow all sport except sport channels :))))

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Mohammad Iqbal

Jul 04, 2014 03:00pm

Sharapova now knocked out of wimbledon by a baby whom sharapova never knew, has weak memory and little general knowledge but she only remembers the names of the bosses of her sponsors and other personalities whom she cashes. Tendulkar is just like obama or queen elizabeth. If you ask me I will tell that I know queen elezabeth, but if you ask the Queen, she will reply in negative. Tendulkar has about 3 billion fans and sharapova may have few million, that too in Europe and USA. So dont make it a issue. Andrew strauss and David Beckham felt proud to sit alongwith Tendulkar

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shabut

Jul 04, 2014 03:12pm

@Manish: You are unbelievable. Chill out. I know Tendulkar and I refuse to like him. You have problem with that.

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Akshay

Jul 04, 2014 03:24pm

I know various Russian who used to go outside Russia and as they find many Indian and Pakistani watching cricket or talking about it. So they knows about cricket and about many renowned players and it is wrong fact that western countries are not having cricket teams even they are trying but not able to mark their status in cricket like in other games.

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kartik

Jul 04, 2014 03:56pm

Honestly , that must have been her straightforward answer without blinking an eyelid from her. So what? Even if you are from England and totally dis-interested in Cricket are you not supposed to say the truth and say you dont know Sachin? How ludicrous can people get?

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Saad(DXB)

Jul 04, 2014 04:00pm

Boo hoo Indians.. Trust me, not more than 2 billion people know Amitabh Bacchan and Sachin and at least one of them is highly overrated. Now stop being cry babies.. No one cares what you guys like or don't.

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Dawood

Jul 04, 2014 04:05pm

India may be 17.5% of the world, but out of 200 nations, cricket is popular in very few. Therefore, her not knowing about Sachin Tendulkar should not surprise "logically". Sachin is not a Model or Attractive sportsman as is David Beckham or many others. So why should she know, or even care?

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Irshad

Jul 04, 2014 04:15pm

If she doesn't watch cricket then what's the point. Tendulkar is a great batsman but not greater than viv Richards. Tendulkar should go to her and introduce himself ....if the Indians are so sensitive about her remarks. :)

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Devil

Jul 04, 2014 04:32pm

Oh! some peanut brain Cricket fans got their egos hurts by that !! And that proves, you do not need brain to be a cricket fan !

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Devil

Jul 04, 2014 04:34pm

@Saad(DXB) True !! Get over this Sachin and Amitabh thing ....

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Majid Khan

Jul 04, 2014 04:38pm

At least she was honest enough to admit who this person is. Not like the many thousands who announce their pseudo-knowledge on things and people they have no idea about.

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salman

Jul 04, 2014 04:39pm

what is the big deal , a huge population of the world doesn't even know what is cricket. and by the way tendulkar is not a global fame star or something like that . He is not imran khan. come on indians, don't react so much every-time a single incident like this happens whether in tennis or in australia.

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Dilliwala

Jul 04, 2014 04:44pm

In India, it is a sin to play a sport other than Cricket. The best players in these sports languish in poverty while even ordinary cricketers are minting money. This is such a tragedy.

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Ammar

Jul 04, 2014 05:02pm

This unveils the global stature of a player, like David Beckham is global star unlike Andrew Strauss. But on very serious note who is sachin tendulkar! :D

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Talha

Jul 04, 2014 05:16pm

Sachin Tendulkar was a good cricketer with an extended cricketing life which led to his numerous records. He was good but not great. There is only one great in cricket and that is Sir Don Bradman.

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imsumitchaudhary@gmail.com

Jul 04, 2014 05:20pm

@salman yeah i agree there is nothing to fuss about this, sachin has fair no. of admirers and doesnt need sharapova to b in that list. but cum'on man u just said Imran khan. anyday sachin is way above Imran in popularity. yeah i knw it will be tough for u to digest but try and google about imran and sachin's fame on world arena. and nothing harsh with u, sachin just comes out to b above most in cricket nothing to feel down with it. Bradman dont invite many for dinner. Cheers :-)

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Vineeth

Jul 04, 2014 05:26pm

Barkha Dutt is right. Its just the insecurity of us as a nation, that makes us do such stupid things. Other than 10-12 countries, cricket is not popular anywhere else. Other than countries of South Asia, none of these are cricket-mad. An American, Russian or a non-British European would have never heard of Cricket. How would we expect them to know Tendulkar? Utter rubbish.

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Turncoat

Jul 04, 2014 05:26pm

@faisal baloch True Imran is known around the world for being the biggest hypocrite , but that does not surprise me after all we all know where he learnt it from

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Jul 04, 2014 05:32pm

Why should she know Sachin Tendulkar??? He is no Imran Khan - who Eastern and Westen women drooled over in his cricketing days.

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Khalid

Jul 04, 2014 05:32pm

@Sunil A comment well put.

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Jul 04, 2014 05:39pm

Just be happy she didn't ask Sachin to keep her Limo ready.

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khan

Jul 04, 2014 05:47pm

This is pathetic, why would a Russian tennis player know anything about cricket? btw, who is Sachin? I don't know anyone name Sachin ;)

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Jawwad

Jul 04, 2014 05:57pm

Indians need to understand reason not only Sharapova but no other celebrity will recognize Tendulkar because despite having most followers from sub continent and despite being most popular in Sub continent he has never used his popularity status to do any sort of charity work to help others. When was the last time Tendulkar was out on the streets collecting funds for internally displaced people of South Asia or say fighting for women rights in India? Never! On the other hand, entire world including West recognizes Imran Khan. Sachin may be your God but that's about it. No doubt he holds all records in cricket but and he is only famous among one billion Indians and that's pretty much it.

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Khan

Jul 04, 2014 05:58pm

Just remember Sachin is not Imran Khan

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Ahmed

Jul 04, 2014 06:39pm

Too many Indians are petty-minded individuals with a great need to draw attention to themselves.

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Tamil selvan

Jul 04, 2014 06:51pm

Most of the fans will not be able to spell her name either so why get emotional about it? We all can recognize and spell Russian product AK-47 as it's more popular than Sachin

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Mindful

Jul 04, 2014 06:57pm

The title say it all. Maria S did not go to watch Sachin playing cricket, but rather Sachin went out to watch Maria S. So Maria being famous for her play style to Sachin and this does not mean Maria should know the Indian god of cricket.

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Moiz Omar

Jul 04, 2014 07:15pm

I think they over-reacted.

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Parvez

Jul 04, 2014 07:27pm

I doubt Sachin is bothered.

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Tony Soprano

Jul 04, 2014 07:32pm

The truth is Indians are extremely insecure. The whole lot of them right down from the Prime Minister and downwards. That is obvious for anyone who interacts with them.

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Syed Mohammad Husain

Jul 04, 2014 07:39pm

It does not take anything away from Tendulkar, and his status in England (MCC) as one of the great names in cricket.But It also shows the intense focus of the tennis star on her environment which is a measure of how the success was attained.

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Riaz

Jul 04, 2014 07:44pm

Grow Up Guys.....Big 1! I tell you what apparently she would recognise Viv Richards?

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Sayyar Khan

Jul 04, 2014 07:56pm

Get a LIFE Indians. Your heroes are not World Heroes .

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Raja

Jul 04, 2014 08:06pm

If you can't pronounce his name then you don't know him.

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Sonny Afridi

Jul 04, 2014 08:17pm

Indians by far are the most insecure and unstable people on the face of the planet. Majority of the world probably hasn't heard of the guy. Move on

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Shahid

Jul 04, 2014 08:20pm

Why are Indians always looking for recognition from the West? Quite entertaining.

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Syed Ahmed

Jul 04, 2014 08:53pm

@syed U get a browny point.

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SID

Jul 04, 2014 09:05pm

No worries.. This is an Indian strategy to get the Russians curious about cricket and to spread it in that country.. ;)

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Khan

Jul 04, 2014 09:08pm

@Parvez don't be too sure. The man is full of complexes and personality disorders.

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Omar

Jul 04, 2014 09:09pm

Come on... i am sure there are hundreds of women in India who won't be knowing Tendulker...

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Mateen

Jul 04, 2014 09:31pm

Seriously give her a break!!! Cricket is mostly only recognized "culturally recognized" by the UK amongst WESTERN Nations!!! and perhaps in later times Canada, U.S. etc because of desi people bringing the sport to life there , but other than that - do you really think Western people (other than English), tend to follow world cricket?? Alot of desi people born and raised in the UK prefer football to this 3+ hr sport imperial British times. Personally being Swedish born and raised, I didn't know much about cricket myself until I went to Pakistan and saw how thrilled the youth are into the sport - so just show some empathy for other cultures. - For sure, Tendulkar is a DemiGod in India but India is not the entire world. There's no reason to attack a someone from such a remote, Balkan/Russian region for not knowing cricket lol.

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Mateen

Jul 04, 2014 09:32pm

@Gaurav Arya - hahah, right. Good thinking

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Vikram

Jul 04, 2014 10:19pm

Title is wrong. Not every one is supposed to know Sachin. I don't think majority of America know who Sachin is. Why make a big deal out of nothing? India should focus on making International level soccer players, then a whole lot of people will know them. One person can make whole lot of difference. While playing golf in Buenos Aires, R. Viswanathan, the Indian ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, had an interesting experience: the Argentinian players asked him where they could buy a turban and how to wear it. When the ambassador probed the reason for their interest, they pointed to a home within the country club complex and said:here livess an Indian maharaja. He looks handsome with his turban. When he goes to the night clubs, he gets premium service and gets it free because they think he is a maharaja.

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Chintamani Gokhale

Jul 04, 2014 10:50pm

Why is everybody so hot under the collar? These people are very self absorbed celebreties who are in the game for themselves, just like actors and actresses. Neither has done humanity any good other than make them waste their time watching their play (its actually their work!). So enjoy watching their game in your leisure time for entertainment and dont give it a second thought!

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Wes

Jul 04, 2014 11:10pm

who is tendlakar?

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irfan

Jul 04, 2014 11:27pm

In 1960 when thespian Dilip Kumar was at his peak of stardom, and the whole India knew him, happened to be in the same plane with Aditya Vikram Birla, one of the greatest Indian business family member. Both were sitting together, Aditya Vikram Birla was very busy writing something and gave no attention to Dilip Kumar, it prompted Dilip Kumar to being the talk, and then suddenly he asked Birla, 'I hope you know me?' Aditya Vikram Birla replied with humility, 'No'. When Dilip said who he is, then Birla shyly replied, 'I am sorry actually I do not see films at all'. This is on record and a fact. So it happens. Nothing new.

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Kaps

Jul 05, 2014 01:53am

Although Cricket is played in very few countries next time when Sachin sits in Royal box, Sharapova can't afford to ignore him....as she can't see her twitter or FB to be flooded with thousands of hate messages. That

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TooTrue

Jul 05, 2014 02:01am

Give me a break. If you're not associated with cricket in the west you're not going to recognize this man. He's just another Indian face out of a possible billion.

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Shailesh

Jul 05, 2014 02:46am

There is nothing wrong in what she said. But does any one even follow tennis nowadays ?? It's a dead sport.

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Ajay

Jul 05, 2014 06:48am

So what if she does not recognize Tendulkar? Only a handful of nations play cricket. Time my fellow Indians and cricket lovers grow up.

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Tendulkar kaun

Jul 05, 2014 07:23am

Maria Sharapova is a global tennis star and she should not care about the indians too much!!!

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Ishrat

Jul 05, 2014 07:57am

Can she recognise Gandhi ?

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Talat

Jul 05, 2014 08:57am

She stands almost a foot taller, I don't think she saw him

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rehan

Jul 05, 2014 09:04am

So what's the big deal if Sharapova did not recognize Sachin ? Get over it , Indians !!!

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let's face it

Jul 05, 2014 09:25am

This is best example of blind love. We Indians do it with our politicians or great people in our history. People who are snubbing Sharapova , do they know who is Hrishikesh Pedse , an Indian from Mumbai who is played for so many Rugby clubs in SA, New Zealand and now has been hired to lead 2nd best Rugby club in Japan. Highly hypocritical and unacceptable behaviour. I am huge fan of both Tendulkar and Sharapova and will remain so.

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Ramesh Manghirmalani

Jul 05, 2014 09:44am

Who cares for Sachin

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imran

Jul 05, 2014 10:11am

As a player its shsmeful for Maria Sharapoa to be unaware of such great player, coming daily in all kinds of media organizations.But this is also shameful for Indians not showing any wordly defeat to her.

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Zeeshan

Jul 05, 2014 10:11am

HaHa..

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hj-007

Jul 05, 2014 10:59am

Really indians are making a fuss about this petty issue .... let go of your pathetic habits,

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Mr_M

Jul 05, 2014 11:15am

Human are slave of their emotions. India is liberal country ?

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Dingis Khan

Jul 05, 2014 11:40am

Tendulkar who?

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Anup

Jul 05, 2014 12:11pm

Another display of immaturity by Indian cricket fans. If one compares cricket with tennis or soccer than cricket is not even 20% as big as those sports. Cricket has paved its way financially due to frenzy fan following from subcontinent and especially from Indians. That may bring a huge population following it but does not bring a global scale like soccer or tennis.

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Bashir Khattak

Jul 05, 2014 01:09pm

Come on to sense the matter. It is not necessary that you know or like any hero all the world people will surely know or like him. Some people don't bother to know or like each and every one in the world. She is quite right. You Indians don't be sentimental or force her to know or like Sachin Tendulkar. Be relaxed and calm . Many people of the world don' t know him as they have no interest in cricket sports.

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N K Ali

Jul 05, 2014 01:47pm

Petty minded Indians should stop idolizing Sachin and accept the fact there are other people who are widely popular. Salams

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Jul 05, 2014 04:40pm

Sachin may be a Demi - god for Indians he is just a cricket player who happened to be a better player than others. Game of cricket isn't as popular in Europe as in subcontinent. So if Sachin isn't noticed among the crowd of spectators it wasn't a big sin and doesn't not warrant such a big hue and cry either.

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Akhtar Hassan

Jul 05, 2014 05:17pm

@Mohammad Iqbal ...Sharapova is a bigger star than Tendulkar. Tendulkar is known only in the countries where test cricket is played whereas Sharapova is known in almost every country of the world even in China and Russia. You are living in a fool's paradise.

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Kabeer

Jul 05, 2014 05:43pm

Poor Indians !

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Navpreet Singh Khangura

Jul 05, 2014 06:57pm

As an Indian I feel ashamed and apologise to Maria over this immaturish attitude of fellow Indians.

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Bokhari

Jul 05, 2014 07:27pm

Tandulkar who.... ? It is shocking to know that she doesnt know about all the other greatest cricketers the world has even seen... .like Kapil, Bedhi, Srisanth, Parsana, Gavaskar... I mean the list goes on and on....

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Jiwan

Jul 06, 2014 09:56am

@Akram , And who, for Pete's sake IS Sachin Tendulkar? Seriously, is he a Bollywood personality or a rock star? Which band does he perform with? I mean, is he related to Maradona? No idea. Please educate me.

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Tariq Mohiuddin

Jul 06, 2014 07:59pm

Maria Sharapova is a global sports icon while Sachin is a over rated and media hype cricketer known in few countries , we have stars much bigger than him, Imran, Javed, Waseem, Waqar and Shoiab but are not obsessed , its the inferiority complex of Indian who failed to produce a global Icon like Maria. Shame on a most insecure nation .

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ali

Jul 07, 2014 12:43pm

@Manish I read sport's magazine and don't know any player of Base ball, basket ball, rugby, bad mint-an, hockey, Formula one etc. Believe me i even don't know a single player's name, because i simply turn the page if its not cricket, football or tennis. So not a big deal if someone don't know Sachin.

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SYED ADNAN SHAFQAT

Jul 07, 2014 01:58pm

@syed agree with you ! Guys give her a break, she might not know about Sachin Tendulkar, he is a living legend of cricket playing countries, she is a tennis star ! Some more from Russia.

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