Sachin Tendulkar has been among the first to be involved with Sunday’s Bushfire Cricket Bash charity match in Melbourne and his association didn’t stop there. Responding to Shane Warne’s appeal to Indian fans and the cricket establishment to donate generously to the noble cause, Sachin contributed Aus$ 25,000 before leaving for the exhibition match.
“Sachin doesn’t wish publicity but he did donate $25,000 to the Australian Red Cross which is raising funds for the fire victims. He has never been someone who wants such deeds to be highlighted and this is his way of contributing to the cause,” a well-placed source told The Telegraph on Friday.
The former India captain will coach the Ricky Ponting XI for Sunday’s star-studded fundraiser at Junction Oval in Melbourne.
The match was originally planned for Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground where it was to be a curtain-raiser to the Big Bash League final, but had to be rescheduled following torrential rain.
This change meant Warne, who has been one of the brains behind this initiative along with Ponting, had to withdraw due to an existing charity commitment in South Africa.
The leg spinner, with over 1000 wickets in international cricket, had also put up his Baggy Green for online auction, which fetched nearly Aus$1 million. But Sachin decided to stay put.
“Sachin was committed to being present for the match. The change in venue and date meant that his entire calendar had to be reworked. For him there was no looking back,” the source said.
A lingering shoulder injury stopped Sachin from playing the match but he was adamant on contributing as a coach.
Adam Gilchrist will now captain the side in Warne’s absence with Australian Test captain Tim Paine acting as coach. Other international stars taking part include Wasim Akram, Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Justin Langer and Yuvraj Singh.
Sachin has worked with Mumbai-based NGO Apnalaya for more than 20 years but hardly much has come out in the open. “He prefers to work behind the scenes when it comes to such charitable work,” said someone in the know of things.
Apart from Sachin, Sunil Gavaskar has contributed Aus$5,000 and Hockey India donated Aus$25,000 for the bushfire victims. Strangely, there has been no word from the Board of Control for Cricket in India or any of the IPL franchises where many of the Australian cricketers ply their trade.
Even Rajasthan Royals, the franchise with which Warne is closely associated, hasn’t responded to the Aussie legend’s appeal.
Quizzed, a spokesperson for the Royals said: “We have an association with the British Asian Trust which deals with anti-trafficking and seek ways of reduce poverty in South Asia. Manoj Jagdale, founding owner of the franchise, is the chairperson of the Trust. We are committed to it.”
