[Watch] Sachin Tendulkar leaves from Mumbai to attend Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was spotted at Mumbai airport as he left for Ayodhya to attend the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir, which will be held on Monday, January 22. The consecration ceremony is expected to start at 12:20 PM and conclude by 1:00 PM.

Apart from Tendulkar, other prominent members of the Indian cricket fraternity like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Ravichandran Ashwin are also said to have received invitations for the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

On Monday morning, news agency ANI shared a video of Tendulkar leaving from Mumbai for Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh for the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. In the clip, the Indian legend can be seen waving at the camera before proceeding on his journey.

Earlier on Sunday night, another video went viral on social media in which Kohli’s convoy was spotted in Ayodhya. While Team India are currently preparing for the Test series against England at home, which begins on January 25, some earlier reports claimed that the BCCI has granted permission to Kohli to attend the grand Ram Temple event in Ayodhya.

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“Both eras cannot be compared” - Shoaib Akhtar on Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar debate

The debate over who is better between Tendulkar and Kohli has been doing the rounds for a while now. In a recent interaction, former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar shared his views on the topic.

In an interview with ANI, he praised both batters and said that the two cannot be compared as they played in different eras.

"Back then, Sachin was playing with one ball, which would reverse swing against some of the best bowlers in the world. There was only one circle. Today, Sachin would have made a lot of runs. He is the greatest ever...Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara etc. Wasim Akram and Shane Warne too," Akhtar said about Tendulkar.

"Virat would have been competitive (in our era). He could have faced difficulties but he would have scored the runs he has scored now. We would have faced a similar beating. But playing Wasim Akram is not easy. Virat is Virat. He is the greatest batsman of this era. Both eras cannot be compared. Hats off to him. I want him to get hundred centuries," he added, while hailing Kohli.

Kohli became the first batter to score 50 ODI hundreds during the World Cup last year. Tendulkar, however, remains the only cricketer with 100 international tons.