Pune-based museum buys Azhar Ali's bat for 1 million PKR in auction to raise funds amid COVID-19 outbreak

The wrath of Coronavirus has severely affected the lives of lakhs of individuals across the globe. The pandemic has put a halt to all the human activities and most countries are under lockdown to tackle the situation. Over 3 million people have tested positive so far and the world has witnessed over 2.7 lakh deaths. In such trying times, many eminent names have come forward to aid in the battle against the pandemic.

Many cricketers have also joined the battle against the pandemic and have done their bit to raise funds amid the COVID-19 debacle. Many prominent cricketers including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina had donated a hefty sum to PM-CARES Fund to raise money for the poor and the needy. England cricketer Jos Buttler had auctioned his ICC World Cup 2019 final shirt for the same cause. Pakistan Test skipper Azhar Ali had also followed the suit by auctioning two of his prized possessions.

Azhar had put a total of two items up for grabs – his the triple-hundred scoring bat and 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final jersey. The online auction was organised to help him raise funds for the individuals who have severely been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Both these items were signed by the members of the national side.

Azhar Ali’s jersey and bat cumulatively fetched PKR 2.2 million

PKR 1 million each was set as the base price for both the items, which cumulatively managed to fetch PKR 2.2 million. Azar Ali’s bat, in fact, was bought by an Indian museum, located in the city of Pune. The bat was bought by a museum named Blades of Glory Cricket for PKR 1 million.

It was the first instance in international cricket that a player had scored a triple century in a day-night Test. Azhar Ali etched his name into the record books after smashing a triple century against West Indies in the UAE back in 2016. Talking about the jersey, it was bought by a Pakistani based out of California.

“I put two of my closest belongings on auction with a base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to the ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May 2020,” Azhar had tweeted.

“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 had 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.”