Indian edible oil brand withdraws commercial featuring Sourav Ganguly

A leading edible oil brand of India has temporarily withdrawn TV commercials featuring Sourav Ganguly, president of Board of Control for Cricket in India and former Indian cricket team captain, following his mild heart attack recently.

The company Adani Wilmar, however, said Ganguly is not being dropped as the brand ambassador and the commercials will be back on air soon, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Ganguly (48) had last week suffered a mild heart attack, following which he had to undergo angioplasty in Woodlands Hospital in Kolkata.

The news of his heart attack triggered a storm in social media with many seeking to link it with his endorsements of the edible oil brand.

Adani Wilmar's Deputy CEO Angshu Mallick said, "We shall continue to work with Sourav and he will continue to be our brand ambassador. We have only taken a temporary break in our TV commercial till we again sit with Sourav and take things forward. This is a very unfortunate incident and can happen with anyone."

"Sourav Ganguly became our brand ambassador endorsing our Fortune rice bran oil. The rice bran oil is not a medicine but only cooking oil. There are several factors which affect heart ailments including dietary and hereditary issues," he said.