After cricket, Tendulkar should start his parliament innings, says tennis ace Vijay Amritraj

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s tryst with cricket could end after his 200^th Test match but Tennis ace Vijay Amritraj feels the little maestro could go for an innings as an parliamentarian.

Amritraj, who spent his childhood in Chennai and is revered as one of the sporting legends of India, feels that Sachin Tendulkar could be a great parliamentarian.

“Cricket made him happy for so long. When people like us retire, it is important to try and do things that could make one happy and make a difference,” said Amritraj, who was here to attend the sixth edition of TiECON Chennai.

Paying tributes to Tendulkar, Amritraj said that Sachin is perfect to do that as he has shown it in his career adapting to different conditions and weather and excelling in it.

Amritraj, who has worn several hats in his career, feels that commercialisation of sport has made it economically viable for everyone to play. He said the sport situation has improved dramatically since he played tennis.

However, to a query on the match-fixing issue plaguing Indian cricket, the tennis ace said that if it is true then it needs to be stemmed out harshly.

Amritraj also felt that players during his era had more visibility than the ones now. “Earlier we had only Doordarshan, so people ha limited alternative and have to watch only the games which were screened by Doordarshan. Now we have innumerable channels and one has to choose from it,” he added.