Fare Play: Sachin Tendulkar Reveals Bus Stop Cry for Help was Prank
Revered Indian cricketer sparked bombardment of Twitter messages when he posted pictures of himself in Oxfordshire village and claimed to need a lift.
When Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said on social media that he had missed the last bus home, from the unlikely location of a small village in Oxfordshire, his adoring fans were only to happy to help.
The former India captain posted pictures of himself on Twitter and Instagram by a bus stop on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by the words: "In Great Haseley Oxfordshire. Missed the last bus, can anyone give me a lift??"
However, it has now been revealed that, like the T in the Park tent bag man, Tendulkar was playing a prank. After the fuss over the story, which was reported back in India, the little master decided to clarify things on Monday. He reposted the same pictures as on Saturday but overwritten with the words: "Not the bus. But some seem to have missed the joke."
- sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 13, 2015
Tendulkar had been watching Andy Murray on centre court at Wimbledon on Friday. And Liz Sharp, who works at the Plough pub in Great Haseley, told the Guardian that Tendulkar had dropped in for lunch there on Saturday with four others.
"My partner, Steve Webster, was cooking in the kitchen," she said. "He kind of recognised him but wasn't sure until he saw it on social media. They were just messing around. He had a car in the car park. It was definitely a joke. It's a really picturesque village but you don't get many buses. You would get the odd one but you'd have to wait three or four hours."
But his legion of fans were not going to let the joke tarnish their very high opinion of him. As Virat Parmar wrote: "god level sarcasm is obviously difficult to understand for humans!"
Despite being a long way from his home town of Mumbai, Tendulkar was bombarded withmessages from adoring supporters offering help after the original post on Saturday. More expressed regret that they could not assist (in the main because they were in India).
Typical was the reaction of Gobin Insan, who wrote: "I wish I could give u [a lift] sir god of cricket." Amit Gosh was similarly gushing, writing: "@sachin_rt anyone will give you a lift!! You are the #GodofCricket And how often do a mortals meet God!!"
One tweeter @crazydreameruk even appeared to have gone to the bus stop in question, providing photographic evidence with the message: "I came to get you but couldn't find you."
There was also concern for Tendulkar. Dinakar Kamuth wrote: "@sachin_rt what happened to your security sir? you are not protected in UK? unbelievable.No arrangement or is it that you are joking?"