Ollie Robinson, England’s right-arm seamer, will remember his first international game for all the wrong reasons. Robinson excelled with the ball in his maiden Test match against New Zealand at Lord’s, picking up four wickets in the first innings and a three-wicket haul in the second. The 27-year-outstanding old’s performance, however, was overshadowed by his decade-old tweets that surfaced on social media. Sachin Tendulkar Supports Ollie Robinson for his apology.
The tweets contained statements stating that Muslims were related to terrorism, as well as insulting statements against women and persons of Asian descent. One thing to note here is that Robinson penned these things while he was just 18 years old. Ollie also apologised publicly for his actions as a teenager and pledged never to do anything like that again. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) did not accept the pacer’s apologies and suspended him from all forms of international cricket.
‘Need to be fair to him’: Tendulkar weighs in on Ollie Robinson issue
Many in the cricket community were outraged by the ECB’s harsh decision. Sachin Tendulkar, former Indian captain and batting legend, has joined this list. Tendulkar, who supports the seamer, believes that people need to realise that Robinson posted these tweets many years ago and that he is sincerely sorry for his mistakes. Sachin Tendulkar Supports Ollie Robinson. Sachin feels that people should be fair to the seamer and that he should be allowed to play for England again as soon as possible.
For an athlete, being left out of an event is a big blow: Sachin Tendulkar
“We need to understand that he did that many, many years ago and he is sorry about it. They left him out in the second Test in spite of doing well and he realises what he had done… he apologised and also said that this won’t happen again. We need to be fair to him and at some stage he should start playing,” Sachin Tendulkar said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Furthermore, Tendulkar said that Robinson has grown and that it is time to move on from the dispute. The Indian legend went on to say that he is not suggesting that a player should not be punished for his actions, but that taking an athlete out of a competition is a significant blow to them.
You have to move on – Sachin Tendulkar
“You have to move on. If the players apologise and are sorry about it, not as a formality, but from the bottom of their heart then we should move on. I am not saying don’t reprimand them or whatever that penalty is. That has already happened. For an athlete, if you are left out of an event then that itself is a big blow,” the former Indian skipper concluded.
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