Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli to Saina Nehwal: How Indian sports stars reacted to Rihanna’s tweet on farmers’ protest

A tweetstorm following the post by pop icon Rihanna on the micro-blogging website refuses to go away anytime soon! The day before yesterday, the Barbadian singer drew the attention of the world towards the ongoing farmers’ protest in India leading to a flurry of counter tweets from the Union Ministers and prominent personalities. However, what has drawn attention this time is the entry of a host of sportspersons who have joined the debate.

The first one to join was Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar who is also a nominated Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. Joining in the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda first used by Cabinet Ministers Amit Shah and S Jaishankar, the former Indian cricket captain wrote that India’s sovereignty should not be compromised and external forces can become spectators but not the participants. Tendulkar further said that Indians should remain united as a nation and it was the Indian people who know the situations in India better.

Let us all stay united in this hour of disagreements. Farmers are an integral part of our country and I’m sure an amicable solution will be found between all parties to bring about peace and move forward together. #IndiaTogether

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 3, 2021

There were more surprises to follow as the current Indian cricket team Captain and fitness model Virat Kohli also joined the debate. Kohli who is seldom seen in Twitter debates wrote that farmers are an integral part of the country and expressed hope that an amicable solution between all the parties will be found to bring peace and movement forward. Like his idol Tendulkar, Kohli also said that the country should remain united in this hour of disagreements. However, unlike Tendulkar, Kohli refrained from using the hashtag #IndiaAgainstPropaganda and settled with #IndiaTogether in his carefully crafted tweet.

India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants.
Indians know India and should decide for India. Let’s remain united as a nation.#IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 3, 2021

Kohli was followed by the man of the season and Vice Captain Ajinkya Rahane who led the Indian team to victory against Australia in the recently concluded Test series in the absence of Captain Kohli. Taking a cue from Kohli, Rahane also used only one of the hashtags- #IndiaTogether and skipped #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.

Soon after, cricketer Rohit ‘Hitman’ Sharma joined in the debate and issued a similar tweet saying that India has always stood united and together. Sharma also said that farmers play an important role in the country and all other stakeholders will also play their role to find an amicable solution to the issue.

Farmers constitute an extremely important part of our country. And the efforts being undertaken to resolve their issues are evident. Let’s support an amicable resolution, rather than paying attention to anyone creating differences. ????????#IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda pic.twitter.com/FhclAMLiik

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) February 3, 2021

India’s ace badminton player Saina Nehwal also joined the debate and issued a statement on twitter saying that the efforts undertaken to resolve the farmers’ issue were evident and instead of paying attention to those who are creating differences the nation should support an amicable solution. Co-incidentally actor Akshay Kumar had earlier issued an identical tweet along with sharing the official response issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on the matter.

There’s no issue that cannot be resolved if we stand together as one. Let’s remain united and work towards resolving our internal issues #IndiaTogether

— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) February 3, 2021

Singer Rihanna in her tweet issued on Tuesday night had drawn attention to the ongoing farmers protest in the country and while sharing a CNN story on the protest asked why the world was not talking about the farmers protest. The tweet issued by Rihanna made other international celebrities like child climate activist Greta Thunberg and Lebanese-American model Mia Khalifa issue their respective statements on the matter.