Indians troll BA over Sachin Tendulkar row

Sachin Tendulkar gestures at an eventAFP

Mess with "God" and face the wrath of a nation

British Airways has incurred the wrath of Indian cricket fans over cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar had tweeted the airline, complaining about poor service and what he referred to as a "don't care" attitude by staff.

The airline responded, apologising for the inconvenience and asking him for his full name and address.

Indian fans are livid British Airways did not know Tendulkar, and declared social media war on the company.

Sachin Tendulkar: Angry Disappointed and Frustrated.. #BAdserviceBA Family member's Waitlisted ticket not confirmed despite seats being available (1/2)Twitter
And luggage being tagged by @British_Airways to wrong destination and don't care attitude! #NeveronBA (2/2)Twitter
@British_Airways: @sachin_rt We're sorry to hear this Sachin, could you please DM us your baggage ref, full name and address so we can look into this for you?Twitter

The offending tweet from BA

The reactions to the tweet from Indians have bordered on the hysterical, with some people even going so far as to call upon Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call off his UK tour.

Tendulkar has since tweeted that British Airways had "expressed deep regret" and offered to look into his complaints about customer service.

He thanked Twitter users for their "love and support".

British Airways is currently the top trend on Twitter in India, with even politicians like the former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir getting in on the act.

Omar Abdullah: Dear @British_Airways try Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, India. I'm sure this is enough for the postal service/courier company here. @sachin_rtTwitter
Anay Singh: How dare you ask his full name you swinesTwitter
Priyanka Bhatt: British Airways, try this tweet and trolling might stop. Dear God, Please forgive our sins,we will return your baggage. Please say tathastuTwitter
Ruhee Das: British Airways: We were Gobsmacked! Indians: No, you were God Smacked!Twitter

Indians are particularly sensitive over Tendulkar - widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen the sport has ever seen - and often refer to him as "God".

There are even temples that are dedicated to him - one village in the northern state of Bihar made headlines after they erected a life-size white marble statue of the cricketer "amid the chanting of Vedic prayers" and a religious pandal was once dedicated to him during the most holy festival in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Special "puja" or prayer ceremonies would often be held for him ahead of matches where India was due to play.

When he retired in 2013, people travelled to Mumbai from across the country to watch his final test match, with emotions running high.

Indian artist Ranjit Dahiya works on a mural of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on the wall of a sports club building in Mumbai on November 8, 2013Getty Images

Special "puja" or prayer ceremonies would often be held for him ahead of matches where India was due to play

A poster reading "Sachin God of Cricket"AFP

And this is not the first time that Indians have taken offence en masse on behalf of "God".

In 2014, the Russian-born tennis player Maria Sharapova was pilloried on social media by Indians after she admitted that she had no idea who Tendulkar was.

Some people however, defended Sharapova given that she did not come from a cricket-playing nation.

British Airways unfortunately, have no such excuse.

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