It’s now a rare thing to watch a cricket match without a pan masala ad. The biggest and most respected cricketing personalities are appearing in these surrogate advertisements that one gets worried about the marketing effects not just on the general mass, but as well as on the kids.
During the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), legendary cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, and Chris Gayle were seen in the pan masala adverts promoting “silver-coated elaichi”. That is why former India opener Gautam Gambhir expressed his disappointment and asked fans to choose role models carefully as these cricketers, for money, are not setting good examples for crores of kids who follow them.
“I never thought in my life a cricketer would do a pan masala ad. It’s disgusting and disappointing. That is why I say, choose your role models carefully. What examples are you setting?” Gambhir said in an interview with News18. He did not take any cricketer’s name while giving his opinions.
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Gautam Gambhir cites Sachin Tendulkar’s example
Gautam Gambhir also revealed that in 2018, after he stepped down from Delhi Capitals captaincy, he was offered Rs 3 crore to do a pan masala ad. But he rejected it.
“One gets recognized not by their name, but by the work they do. Crores of kids are watching you. Money is not so important that you will end up doing a pan masala ad. There are so many other ways to make money,” the BJP MP added.
Gambhir then narrated the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s incident. He claimed that the Master Blaster was also offered Rs 20-30 crores to star in pan masala ads but he said no to the company. “He had promised his father that he would never engage in such stuff, which is why he is a role model,” he added.
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