On the eve of a nail-biting semi-final between India and Australia in faraway Sydney, Jharkhand postal circle on Wednesday recorded its appreciation of the home team's performance in the World Cup so far by releasing a special booklet on cricket.
A World Cup souvenir sheet, released by New Zealand Post and introduced by India Post, will also be available in the state now.
The booklet and the souvenir sheet were formally introduced at Doranda GPO by president of Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) Amitabh Choudhary, who is also joint secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in the presence of the state's chief postmaster-general Sujata Chaudhary and postmaster-general Anil Kumar.
The booklet flaunts pictures of Indian cricketers, the World Cup and special stamps earlier issued in the honour of pitch masters like Vinoo Mankad, C.K. Naidu, Deodhar and Vijay Merchant. It also has two Rs 20 stamps commemorating Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test. And, all these for just Rs 75.
The souvenir sheet, on the other hand, contains 14 stamps modelled on cricket balls in different colours to represent the participating countries. It is priced at Rs 400.
"These are documentations of historic moments," Choudhary said after doing the honours. The JSCA boss lauded Ranchi lad M.S. Dhoni as the "most successful Team India captain" so far and said he was the first to represent the country from Jharkhand in 2004.
"Since 1935, no one had (played for India) from Bihar (the parent state). Now that he (Dhoni) has excelled, I wish India attains glory once again and Jharkhand feels proud. The whole nation is praying for tomorrow. May the champions remain champions," Choudhary added.
Chief postmaster-general Chaudhary said they were also waiting to release the booklet and souvenir sheet on the eve of the two-day Ranchi Stamp Festival 2015, which begins at Milan Palace on Club Road on Thursday. "It (souvenir sheet) may have released in Calcutta last week, but we wanted to commemorate our own occasion. Philatelists from Bihar and Jharkhand and students in large numbers will participate in the stamp festival. This was the right time."
Postmaster-general Kumar added the festival would also see painting and letter writing competitions, besides a philately quiz.
