Panaji, Jan 3 (IANS): Cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar originally hail from Goa and their ancestors moved to neighbouring Maharashtra during the Portuguese occupation, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Thursday.

Parrikar was speaking at a function held at Porvorim near the capital to mark a recent string of victories of the state Ranji team.

"Sachin Tendulkar and (Sunil) Gavaskar are originally from Goa. Their (family) deities are in Goa. That means their origin is Goan," Parrikar said.

"Their families must have migrated either during Portuguese inquisition or occupation," he said.

Goa was a Portuguese colony for over 400 years and the inquisition was a period during the colonial rule, which saw the tenets of Christianity imposed by force and violence on Goan subjects. The inquisition forced a large chunk of the indigenous population to flee Goa and the oppressors.

Soon after his retirement, Tendulkar was recently seen visiting three popular temples in Goa housing the deities of Shantadurga, Mangueshi and Damodar.