NEW DELHI: The Vijay Mallya-owned UB Group on Friday decided to withdraw the controversial advertisement which showed Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni “mocking” at Harbhajan Singh’s look-alike, which had prompted the spinner to slap a legal notice against the group.
The UB Group said that it has taken a decision to replace the ad “in the interest of the game of cricket” and fearing that the commercial could be misused by vested interests to further their own agenda.
“This gesture (to replace the ad) of Dr Mallya is based on the larger national cricketing interests, particularly at time when the Indian Team is engaged in a crucial cricket Test series in the United Kingdom,” a statement from the group said.
“Despite clear-cut legal opinion and the view of the management that there is no maintainable case, and further keeping in mind that the commercial can be used by vested interests to further their own agenda, in the interest of the game of cricket, Dr Mallya has graciously chosen to replace the current commercial.
The response asserted that as the UB group and Vijay Mallya are very much involved with and have large stakes in the game of cricket and it would be absurd to suggest that they would malign any cricketer much less a cricketer of Harbhajan’s calibre. (PTI)