It’s been almost a decade since the legendary Sachin Tendulkar called time on his international cricket career, but his popularity hasn’t gone down one bit.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time, Tendulkar continues to appear on billboards and on television endorsing different brands.
In a latest development, Tendulkar is set to be designated as a ''national icon'' of the Election Commission (EC) to encourage greater voter participation in the electoral process.
A memorandum of understanding will be signed between Tendulkar and the poll panel in New Delhi on Wednesday (August 23). As part of the three-year agreement, the batting maestro will spread voter awareness.
''This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's unparalleled impact with the youth for increasing voters' participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024,'' the EC said in a statement.
With this association, the Election Commission seeks to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy towards voting.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, renowned names such as MS Dhoni, Aamir Khan and Mary Kom were EC's national icons.
In a career spanning 24 years, Sachin Tendulkar played 200 Tests and 463 ODIs for India, scoring the world record number of runs (15921 in Tests and 18426 in ODIs) and centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).
(With PTI Inputs)
