Former CM? Well, not quite, says Amrinder, the goalkeeper
KOLKATA: What’s in a name? Lots, if you are known as Amrinder Singh in the time of rapid political developments in Punjab.
At 11:51am on Thursday, this tweet from the verified handle @Amrinder_1 set the microblogging site abuzz. It said: “Dear New Media, Journalists, I am Amrinder Singh, Goalkeeper of Indian Football Team and not the Former Chief Minister of the State Punjab.” The tweet had two emojis, of a namaste and uproarious laughter, and ended with “Please stop tagging me”.
By evening the post by the ATK Mohun Bagan’s last line of defence had been retweeted over 9,000 times with nearly 2,000 comments and 52,000 likes. One of them was by his namesake and former chief minister of Punjab.
“I empathise with you, my young friend. Good luck for your games ahead,” said a post from the verified handle @capt_amarinder whose twitter bio says he is an “Army Veteran” and “former Chief Minister of Punjab” who is “continuing to serve the state.”
Amrinder’s tweet generated a meme fest on social media. What if Amrinder was the captain of his team now like he was at Mumbai City FC, asked one. Another used a picture of the former CM to a comment made by Amrinder on Mumbai City FC becoming part of the stable that also has Manchester City.
Usually Amrinder avoids social media; this was his first post since September 22. . But these are not usual times for the tall, bearded shot-stopper. Instead of being with the national team for the SAFF Championships in the Maldives, Amrinder is quarantining in a hotel in Mahilpur, Punjab, having tested positive for Covid-19.
“I have lost my sense of smell but am fine otherwise. Hopefully, all this will end by mid-october if not earlier” he said over the phone.
This wasn’t the first time twitterati had confused the politician who uses an extra “a” in his name for the footballer, said Amrinder. “But it was happening quite frequently over the past few days.”
“I had to ensure that everyone wanting to reach Amarinder Sir did not send their important messages to the wrong person,” said Amrinder, his voice giving nothing away.