Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali has decided to auction his bat with which he had used during his Test triple ton against West Indies along with his national jersey to raise funds to fight COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 2.1 lakhs globally.
Describing the bat and jersey as the two of his ‘closest belongings’, Ali set 10 lakh Pakistan rupees each as the base price of the items at the auction which will end on May 5. The jersey which Ali wore during Pakistan’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign in 2017 has the autograph of all the players from the squad.
“I put 2 of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now & will close on 11:59 pm, May 5,” he wrote on his twitter handle.
Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in day-night Tests when he scored an unbeaten 302 against West Indies in UAE in 2016.
The 35-year-old was also part of the Pakistan squad which had defeated India by 180 runs in the final.
“The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad,” Ali said in a video posted on Twitter. “Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy,” he added.
Cricketers around the world, including India skipper Virat Kohli and former South Africa captain AB de Villiers have put up their cricketing gears for auction to generate funds to help raise funds for the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 3 million worldwide. The global health crisis has claimed the lives of more than 300 people and infected over 14,000 in Pakistan.