Former Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar is not only known for his ‘masterclass’ batting on the field but also for his down-to-earth personality off the field. In the recent past, he extended a helping hand on many occasions to those in need and also supports various causes.
Recently, the ‘Master Blaster’ provided a help of Rs 4.5 lakh to the wheelchair cricket team of India, which successfully completed its first international tour of Bangladesh.
It was their dream to wear the national jersey. They needed Rs 6.5 lakh so that they could travel to Bangladesh for a bilateral series. But despite the secretary of the Wheelchair Cricket India (WCI) Pradeep Raj’s efforts, they could only get one sponsor who partially funded their expenses, giving them Rs 2 lakh.
It was Pradeep’s idea to approach Sachin Tendulkar for help to realise the dream of wheelchair cricket team.
“Despite my best efforts, I could only get only one sponsor, who gave Rs 2 lakh. I had knocked many doors for our wheelchair team but to no avail. I had Sachin sir’s email address as during my days as a para-athlete (he was a cricketer and then a para TT player), I had e-mailed him. This time also I mailed Sachin sir asking for help,” Raj told PTI during an interaction.
“To my pleasant surprise, his office got in touch with me within three days and in next few days, he donated the outstanding Rs 4.5 lakh. Without his help, the Indian Wheelchair cricket team would have had to cancel their trip to Bangladesh. The financial help provided by him went a long way in booking air tickets for the 19-member team,” Raj added.
Besides Sachin, BJP MP and actor Manoj Tiwari also donated Rs 10,000 to each of the players.
The Indian team beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the three-match series. The matches were held in Dhaka and the first one was a wash-out due to rain. The Indian team won the next two matches. This is the second time that wheelchair team has played an international series. Last time, they had invited the Bangladesh team to Delhi.
In wheelchair cricket, the matches are held in T20 format.
Earlier, Tendulkar sanctioned Rs 40 lakh from his MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds for construction of a school building in Kupwara district of North Kashmir. Besides that, Tendulkar, who represented Team India in 200 Test matches and 463 ODIs, has also transformed the lives of villagers in Puttamraju Kandriga in Andhra Pradesh by adopting it.
