Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s One Day International (ODI) jersey fetched a whopping 4300 euros (over ₹ 3 lakhs) during an auction. Earlier, in a friendly gesture, Team India had presented a Kohli ODI jersey with signatures of team members scribbled on its back to Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi on the event of his retirement from the International cricket. The jersey was auctioned on July 31 in London and the money raised will be donated to Shahid Afridi’s charity group ‘Shahid Afridi Foundation’.
According to dunyanews.tv, Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim also donated 10,000 euros each for the Shahid Afridi Foundation. The foundation is currently raising funds to construct a hospital in Thar, Pakistan.
Pakistani journalist, Faizan Lakhani, tweeted the picture of the signed shirt with the caption: “Virat Kohli’s shirt, signed by the Indian team, for Shahid Afridi, with a message ‘always a pleasure playing against you’.”
Virat Kohli’s shirt, signed by Indian team, for Shahid Afridi, with a message “always a pleasure playing against you.” pic.twitter.com/KexlCjTNeZ
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) April 15, 2017
The ODI jersey, with the number 18 and ‘VIRAT’ printed on it, had the signatures of the Indian skipper, Yuvraj Singh and players from the Indian cricket team: Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, R. Ashwin, Hardik Pandya along with that of former coach Ravi Shastri, among others.
Kohli had a special message for the mercurial Pakistan cricketer: “Shahid Bhai, best wishes, always a pleasure playing against you”.
The jersey was handed over to Shahid Afridi after the two teams met in their group stage encounter of the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy.
