The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season is nearly upon us; however, six days before the tournament begins, the entire country is talking about ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh. The Bollywood film has sparked mass hysteria, and even the great Sunil Gavaskar is unable to get hold of tickets. The movie, which was released in theatres last week, is minting an impressive amount of money and breaking records left, right and centre. With demand exceptionally high among the public, even the 1983 World Cup-winner is struggling to get tickets, and he has had to resort to contacting an actor to arrange them.
Rakesh Bedi, the veteran actor who plays a pivotal role in the two-part spy-actioner, took to Instagram to share a video revealing details of his brief meeting with Gavaskar. The clip, which Bedi basically uploaded to ask fans to stop sharing spoilers, sees the actor narrating that Gavaskar is struggling to get tickets and that he is now trying to arrange them.
“Talking about sports, yesterday I met one of the great sportspersons of India, the great Sunil Gavaskar ji. He said, ‘Rakesh ji, I am not able to get the tickets. So please arrange it for me,” said Bedi in a video posted on his Instagram handle.
“So I am trying to arrange some tickets for him. I hope I am able to,” he added.
Speaking of ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, the film also stars Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, and Sanjay Dutt. The project is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film ever. Coincidentally, the record is held by the first instalment, ‘Dhurandhar’.
Recently, the Gujarat Titans players visited a theatre in Ahmedabad to watch ‘Dhurandhar 2’. Even Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was spotted at a multiplex to watch the film.
Gavaskar and Abrar Ahmed
Recently, Gavaskar made headlines after he openly criticised Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Leeds for buying Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred auction despite the strained relations between India and Pakistan.
He urged all the IPL team owners to refrain from going after Pakistan players after what happened in Pahalgam last year, where 26 people lost their lives in a terrorist attack.
“Ever since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, Indian franchise owners have simply ignored Pakistani players for the IPL. Although belated, the realisation that the fees that they pay to a Pakistani player, who then pays income tax to his government, which buys arms and weapons, indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians, is making Indian entities refrain from even considering having Pakistani artistes and sportspersons,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.
“Surely the owner should have had an understanding of the situation and discouraged the purchase. Is winning a tournament in a format that no other country plays in much more important than Indian lives?” he added.