New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham took an indirect dig at Donald Trump after the US President mispronounced the names of cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli in his speech at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.
Fans of the cricket legends in India and around the world were unhappy after Trump pronounced Sachin as “Soo-chin” and Virat Kohli as “Virot Kolee”.
“Why hate someone for the pronunciation of names they’ve never heard before when there are so, so, so many better reasons to hate them?
“Um, he can’t remember which US states have a southern border. I don’t see it as a lack of respect…” Neesham tweeted.
From quoting Swami Vivekananda to calling ‘Bollywood‘ the hub of creativity, President Trump heaped rich praise on India and drew parallels between the two biggest democracies in the globe.
Notably, Donald Trump also mentioned India’s batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli and said the country cheers for ‘some of the world’s greatest cricket players’. But his mispronunciations lead to various memes and trolls on social media.
“This is the country where the people cheer on some of the world’s greatest cricket players from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli.
“All over the planet people take great joy in watching the hub of the hub of genius and creativity known as Bollywood — Bhangra, and classic films like DDLJ and Sholay,” Trump said in his speech.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen was one of the first to call out Trump’s gaffe on Twitter after the International Cricket Council too took a dig at the POTUS. Pietersen even tagged popular English broadcaster Piers Morgan in his Tweet.
“FFS, @piersmorgan, pls ask your mate to do some research in pronouncing legends names?!,” Pietersen tweeted.
The ICC on the other hand, tweeted a video where it could be seen that they were changing Sachin’s name to Soo-chin Tendulkar in their database.
President Trump began his 2-day India trip in Ahmedabad on Monday. After visiting the Sabarmati Ashram in the city, Trump and the First Lady Melania attended the grand reception at the newly-constructed cricket stadium. This is Trump’s first visit to India as US President.