IANS
New Delhi, Sep 30: It has always been a windfall of swanky automobiles - and ensuing controversies - for cricketers. And Team India's stunning Twenty20 victory has provided another occasion for them to show off those gleaming machines.
First it was the announcement of a Porsche 911 sports for all-rounder Yuvraj Singh by Lalit Modi, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president, for his 6 sixes feat against England.
Then Neosport presented pacer Rudra Pratap Singh with a Mercedes car for taking 12 wickets to pave the way for India's victory in crucial matches.
However, cricketers have had their fair share of controversy while accepting these awards for their achievements or otherwise.
In commemorating Sachin Tendulkar's feat of equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries in Test Cricket, auto giant Ferrari invited the master blaster to its paddock in Silverstone on the eve of the British Grand Prix in July 2002 to receive a Ferrari 360 Modena from the legendary F1 racer Michael Schumacher.
Subsequently, the Ferrari was draped in controversy after it was reported that the batting maestro had requested a customs duty waiver on the car despite getting it as a gift and not winning it as a prize in any tournament.
When the move to waive customs duty became public, political and social activists protested the waiver and filed public interest litigation in the Delhi High Court.
With the controversy snowballing, Sachin offered to pay the customs duty but finally Fiat, which gained tremendous market share from Sachin's endorsement of their 'Palio' brand, picked up the tab.
Sachin's fascination for swanky cars is legend. Besides the Ferrari, he owns a status-symbol silver-coloured Mercedes Benz and a black Opel Astra, which he won in a Sharjah tournament.
Former captain Kapil Dev ran into a spot of trouble after he was given a Mercedes Benz C 180 in 2003 worth Rs.2.4 million.
It was later revealed that the luxury car was given to him by one Zaheer Rana, an accused in a multi-level marketing scam, according to Gujarat Police. Rana was accused of floating several bogus schemes like a recharge-for-free dotcom that allegedly duped thousands of people of millions of rupees.
Police later brought back the luxury car from Delhi that was given by Rana.
During investigations in the match-fixing probe in 2000, the Central Bureau of Investigation found that a Mercedes Benz-220-D was gifted in 1995 to former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin by a 'friend', Mony Verma, who was based in England.
Former all-rounder Ravi Shastri too won an Audi-100 when he was chosen the Champion of Champions in the World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985.
With 182 runs and eight wickets in the tournament, it was clearly the highlight of Shastri's career. And by a special order of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Indian customs waived the heavy duty that the Audi's import would have normally entailed.
"Cheque" de India !