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Indian Museum Buys Pakistani Cricketer's Bat for Raising COVID-19 Relief Fund

New Delhi (Sputnik): With all sports activities banned in several countries across the globe, many players are contributing in their own ways to help the needy who have been severely hit by the pandemic.
Sputnik

An Indian cricket museum has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test Cricket Captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy in his pandemic-hit country. Ali has managed to raise a total of over 2.2 million Pakistani rupees (approx. $13,800).

Last month, Ali put two of his precious belongings - the bat which he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey which he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India - on an online auction in order to raise funds for people affected by the coronavirus.

In a tweet, Ali revealed that the Pune-based Blades of Glory Cricket Museum had bought the bat for one million Pakistani rupees, while a man from California got the Champions Trophy T-shirt for 1.1 million Pakistani rupees (approx. $6,900)

Ali became the first player to score a triple century in a day/night test match.

According to Ali, the bat and jersey have signatures of members of the Pakistan Cricket team and both the items are really close to his heart.

“If my close things can benefit people in need I’ll be more than happy”, he said.

According to official data, a total of 25,837 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in the country and as many as 594 people have died due to the virus. 

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