Guerilla News has already celebrated both the cricket and the cause of The Road Safety World Series T20 tournament, the final of which took place on Sunday with India triumphing over Sri Lanka by 14 runs, courtesy of powerful knocks by Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan and a tidy 30 from Sachin Tendulkar
Not only have a cavalcade of legendary (and to be honest, not so legendary) cricketers rolled back the years and served up terrific cricket, at the tournament’s heart lies a vitally important educational message. As the tournament’s brand ambassador, The Little Master has used 100MB to promote its message. MB in this case stands for Master Blaster and is Sachin’s own venture, already reaching many millions of cricket fans via its mobile application.
In the most recent video, Sachin bestrides a scooter at the doors of his hotel and finds Brian Lara conveniently appearing stage right to be his pillion passenger. Whilst the pair’s acting may be more wooden than Thunderbirds, there is no doubt about the impact of both the scooter riders and their message.
Road safety is a cause very close to Tendulkar’s heart and he has been delighted that his message for people to show more patience while on the road whether in a car or on a bike, is getting across.
“We are here for a cause and people are taking notice of what we are looking to do,” he said. “The reaction has been very good, the crowds have responded brilliantly. I have always said that when people react this way then it’s the best tonic for any athlete”.
He added: “Every four minutes we are losing lives in India. While people are riding two-wheelers, 50 per cent of the accidents are happening in the age group of 18-35 because of not wearing helmets.
“You know lives are lost because we are not doing the basic things. Pillion riders don’t wear helmets. The drivers and passengers choose not to wear seat belts when driving a car
“Life is precious, one cannot because of carelessness, put someone else’s life in danger. That’s why I feel patience is required. When we were small, we would have piggybanks where we would collect our pocket money and save. Similarly, if we show little bit of patience every day and allow elderly people to cross roads, honk less and do these little things that is a piggybank of blessings”.
Well played Sachin and Brian. Ride safely and keep filling that piggybank.
Jingle by Mog
