Cricket icon Tendulkar made ambassador

 

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was named for the upcoming Rio Olympics after a furor over Bollywood star Salman Khan Event Tuesday as one of India's ambassadors of goodwill, which was slammed as inappropriate.

Tendulkar, he said an offer from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) accepted to work alongside Khan, whose appointment sparked a row over whether an actor was best suited to promote the athletes.

"I had represented the privilege and the honor of our nation for 25 years and I continue to beat for India from the field," the master batsman wrote in a letter to IOA bosses.

"The well-being of athletes and encourage their best is to give me love."

The IOA named more ambassadors, including Ace Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra and Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman, in the days after the controversy over Khan.

Olympic wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt had criticized Khan appointment, saying the "Olympic Games is not a place to promote films". Indian sprint legend Milkha Singh had asked the government to intervene to overturn the decision.

Khan, a homeless man killed cleared last year in a hit-and-run crash, plays a wrestler in his upcoming film "Sultan".

The IOA has defended his decision. He says the 50-year-old actor, who is currently shooting a charge of illegally faces protected antelope, with young people is very popular.

Tendulkar revered, widely used in cricket crazy India, played 200 Tests and 463 one-day internationals, beating a record 100 centuries in both formats before in 2013 retires.