Cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh have heaped praise on R. Balki’s recent sports drama Ghoomer, calling it a motivational film that has the potential to inspire people and inculcate the never-give-up attitude in them.

“It’s an extremely inspiring movie. This movie can teach you so much to never give up in life,” said legendary former Team India batter Sachin Tendulkar in a video shared by streaming platform Zee5 on Instagram.

Sharing the reel, the streaming company wrote, “Hear it straight from the Legends themselves!​”

The video shows former Team India off-spinner Ashwini lauding actors Saiyami Kher and Abhishek Bachchan for their “exemplary” work in the film. “It was not only motivational and emotional. I think Saiyami and Abhishek Bachchan have done an exemplary job in whatever role they have been handed over.”

Ghoomer, which hit theatres on August 18, revolves around a young batting prodigy, Anina (Saiyami) who loses her right hand on the brink of her international cricket debut. A failed cricketer (Abhishek) enters her life, offering her an innovative training method and infuses her with a new hope. Following her training, she joins the Indian cricket team as a bowler, revolutionising the bowling style.

Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan sported his team’s jersey and recorded his message for Team Ghoomer — “Ek zabardast movie thi, ek zabardast message tha (it was a fantastic movie, it had a fantastic message).”

World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev also shared his thoughts about the film. The cricketer, who is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets and scored more than 5,000 runs in Test matches, was seen eating popcorn outside a cinema hall while recording his message about the film. “Outstanding movie, very very nice,” he said.

Popular cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle talked about how the film stayed true to the essence of the sport and depicted it in a realistic manner. “I like how, from the cricketing point of view, the anecdotes, the little connections, the little stories are connected to the actual playing of the game,” Harsha said in the video.

“After a long time, I’ve seen a good film on cricket,” said Yuvraj Singh, who played a crucial role in India’s 2011 World Cup win and bagged the man of the series trophy.

Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer, Murali Kartik, who represented Team India from 2000 to 2007, congratulated Abhishek, Saiyami, Angad Bedi and Balki for the success of their film.