His slow reflexes on the field have sparked a clamour for the retirement of the ‘God of cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar. But his lack of commitment to things other than endorsements and cricket has also irked the Indian Air Force (IAF) which rues that they never heard from the ‘Master Blaster’ after he got an honorary rank in the service.
In fact, the lack of commitment from Tendulkar has irked the IAF so much that the force has decided not to give any honorary ranks to any celebrity henceforth.
Taking leaf out of the Indian Army’s attempt to rope in celebrities to revamp its image and increase awareness about the force in public, the IAF had given the honorary rank of Group Captain to Tendulkar on Sept 9, 2010, hoping that the outstanding player will help the force in giving a mind space among the youth. It was a first for a sportsperson in the country however, since then Tendulkar did not have any time to fulfill any commitment with the force as its brand ambassador.
Tendulkar, who holds the record of maximum runs and centuries in test and limited over International matches, was also supposed to fly in the frontline Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets along with the skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But after the one day enthusiasm, there was no word from them.
When asked about the role played by Tendulkar as brand ambassador to the IAF, a senior force officer told the Sunday Express: “We never heard from him (Tendulkar) after that (granting of honorary rank). We have decided not to give honorary ranks to anybody now.” The response has come in reply to a question if the IAF was considering giving honorary rank to badminton star Saina Nehwal on the lines of Tendulkar after she flew in trainer aircraft Kiran Mk-II. Even as the IAF was all praise for Nehwal's response to the IAF's gesture the once bitten twice shy force has refrained from giving an honorary rank to the young sportsperson.
The IAF authorities even retorted at the question of when the 39-year-old Master Blaster is going to fly in the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI. “The IAF has more serious business than flying him,” sources added on condition of anonymity. The batsman was even made a Rajya Sabha MP and was expected to work towards improvement of sports in the country but he has not shown much commitment on that front either.
There has been a heightened pressure on Tendulkar to call it a day after Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman announced their retirements earlier this year and especially after his dismal performance in the home series against New Zealand in August-September. During the series, Tendulkar was bowled out by the New Zealand bowlers as he missed the ball all three times and it hit the wicket. Experts attributed it to the slowing reflexes of the batsman.
Earlier the IAF has flown VVIPs like Ratan Tata, former president APJ Kalam and President Pratibha Patil as all of them donned their flying suits and got into the rear seats of the one of the best fighter aircraft of IAF. The Defence Ministry had also provided clearance for the sorties for both Tendulkar and Dhoni in 2011 after IAF sought special permission. The duo was supposed to undertake the flight at Pune’s Lohegaon Air Force Station where the two squadrons of the air-dominance Sukhoi fighter jets are based.
Incidentally, IAF had also included a photograph of Tendulkar in its official calendar for 2011. Tendulkar was posing in front of a Sukhoi jet in a fighter pilot’s gear.
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