The election commission has appointed Sachin Tendulkar as national icon of the Election Commission (EC) to boost voter participation during elections. A MoU was signed today with the cricket icon for three years at a function in New Delhi. Through the partnership, the EC seeks to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy towards voting. This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's unparallel impact with the youth for increasing voters’ participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024," the EC said in a statement. The EC has been associating itself with renowned Indians from various fields by designating them as its "national icons" to motivate voters to participate in the electoral process.
Last year, the commission recognised actor Pankaj Tripathi as a national icon. Earlier, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, stalwarts such as MS Dhoni, Aamir Khan, and Mary Kom had been the EC's national icons. One of India's finest cricketers to ever grace the game, Tendulkar is a one time World Cup winner who holds the record for the most test caps by any player. He has scored 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78, along with 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries to his name. He has played 463 ODIs in his career while scoring 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83 and a strike rate of 86.23. Tendulkar scored 49 centuries and 96 fifties in the format. He is the first-ever player to score an ODI double hundred and the legendary cricketer is also the highest run-scorer across both formats. During the long span of his career, the master blaster has represented India in six World Cups.
