Sunil Gavaskar criticizes mismanagement in Lionel Messi's India tour

Overview

• In his column for Sportstar, Sunil Gavaskar touched upon Lionel Messi's recent visit to India and criticized its mismanagement
• The former Indian cricketer noted that the Argentine legend had shorter appearances than promised in Kolkata
• Gavaskar claimed that the blame was put on the organizers and others than on Messi, whom he regarded to have not honored his commitment

In his column for Sportstar, Sunil Gavaskar touched upon Lionel Messi's recent visit to India and criticized its mismanagement. The former Indian cricketer noted that the Argentine legend had shorter appearances than promised in Kolkata. Gavaskar claimed that the blame was put on the organizers and others than on Messi, whom he regarded to have not honored his commitment.

"Even the recent episode at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata, where the Argentinian footballer, Lionel Messi, made a far shorter appearance than promised, was blamed on everyone except the person who failed to honour his commitment," the former Indian cricketer wrote in his column.

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"What his agreement was is not public knowledge, but if he was meant to be at the stadium for an hour, then by leaving well before that time and disappointing fans who had paid good money, the real culprit was he and his entourage. Yes, he was surrounded by politicians and so-called VIPs, but there was no security threat to him or his entourage," he added.

"Crowd would have seen their hero," - Sunil Gavaskar

The veteran questioned whether Messi was supposed to just walk around the stadium or pull of a penalty kick of sorts. If the latter was the case, he claimed that the people who were around him should have made a way for fans to enjoy Messi in the stadium.

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"Was he supposed to simply walk around the stadium, or do something tangible like take a penalty kick? If it were the latter, those around him would automatically have had to move, and the crowd would have seen their hero do what they had come to watch," Gavaskar claimed.