Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has once again come on the frontfoot to express his views on an issue which is plaguing the Indian society. Several celebrities these days could be seen endorsing pan masala products through what is called surrogate advertising. In the sixteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which ended in late May, some of the names which are considered legendary, given their achievements in world cricket, the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle were seen promoting "silver-coated elaichi" which happens to be manufactured and marketed by a pan-masala company.
"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 example are you setting?" Gambhir, who was part of both the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup-winning sides, said in an interview to News18.
However, Gambhir did not name any cricketer in his response but was firm in his stance as usual and lashed out at those endorsing unhealthy products.
"One gets recognised not by their name, but by the work they do. Crores of kids are watching you. Money is not that important that you will end of doing a pan masala ad. There are so many other ways to make money.
"You should have the courage to let go of a big pay cheque rather than do such things," he added.
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The southpaw cited his own example. He revealed that he had been offered a hefty sum of Rs 3 crore to feature in a pan masala advertisement. However, he had refused to do it owing to his principle. He also gave the example of Sachin Tendulkar who was offered 10 times the sum but yet never agreed to do a Pan-masala ad.
"He had promised his father that he would never engage in such stuff, which is why he is a role model," Gambhir said.