After Vijay Mallya's presence at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, where the India-Pakistan match was held on Sunday, June 4, made headlines, the liquor baron took to Twitter to not only reveal why he attended the match but also state that he would continue to do so.
"Wide sensational media coverage on my attendance at the IND v PAK match at Edgbaston. I intend to attend all games to cheer the India team," said Mallya.
Vijay Mallya: The rise and fall of the Indian industrialist arrested in London [Infographic]
He also praised Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian team and the skipper of his erstwhile franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore.
World class player World class Captain World class gentleman @imVkohli . Bravo Virat.
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) June 6, 2017
The business tycoon was spotted in the VIP stands wearing an off-white coat. He was also seen with former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. Mallya was wearing the same white coat and the duo was looking at Mallya's phone.
Both the pictures of Mallya, the owner of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, were widely circulated on social media.
The 61-year-old industrialist, whose company owes Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 banks, fled from India last year. He was arrested in London by the Scotland Yard on April 18 "on an extradition warrant" on behalf of the Indian authorities. Mallya was produced before the Westminster magistrate's court. He was granted bail three hours after his arrest.
India has been pushing for Mallya's extradition since last year. UK Prime Minister Theresa May met Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley when he was in Britain in February, and the two were reported to have discussed, among other things, the arrest of Mallya and his possible extradition to India.
