NEW DELHI: Weeks after tennis star Maria Sharapova caused a major storm in India by saying she did not recognise batting great Sachin Tendulkar, the master blaster has come out in support of the under-fire Russian.
"Sharapova's comments were not disrespectful. She doesn't follow cricket," Tendulkar said in an exclusive interview to NDTV.
Outraged Indian cricket fans left thousands of angry messages on Sharapova's Facebook page after she admitted to not recognising the cricket legend.
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 in June.
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.
Tendulkar is a regular in the Royal Box during Wimbledon.