New Delhi: A new variety of mango has been named after India's record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar in honour of his cricketing success, an Indian television channel reported Friday.
Farmer Kalimullah Khan told India's NDTV news channel that he has created a hybrid version of the creamy, sweet-tasting fruit by combining two of the finest Indian varieties, including the Chausa.
"There is no player like Sachin Tendulkar in the whole world and that's why I have named this mango Sachin," the elderly farmer, from Malihabad in Lucknow district, northern Uttar Pradesh state, told NDTV.
Tendulkar, 37, is widely regarded as one of the world's greatest batsmen and has iconic status in India. He is also the first Indian sportsman to have a waxwork figure at London's famous Madame Tussauds museum.
India is the world's largest producer of mangoes. The Alphonso mango, grown in Tendulkar's home state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, is seen by locals as the "king of fruits."
The Sachin mango, though, will not go on sale.
"Our Sachin is a world hero and he is priceless and not a saleable commodity," said Khan, who plans to donate a tree of Sachin mangoes to the cricketer "so he can enjoy them with his friends."
Khan has produced nearly 300 new mango varieties and won India's top civilian award for his work on mango grafting and cultivation.
He told the news channel he is working on a new hybrid fruit to be named after the legendary Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar.
