Karachi: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali. It has done so to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Up for grabs
Azhar had put two of his precious belongings up for grabs. First, the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016. Second was the jersey Azhar wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India. Both were put up for sale on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease. Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.
Buyers of Azhar’s items
Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of rupees one million each for the bat and jersey. He said that they had been sold for Rs 2.2 million. Azhar confirmed that ‘Blades of Glory Cricket Museum’ based in Pune bought the bat. It did so by making a winning offer of Rs 1 million for the bat.
Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest. Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs 1.1 million for the shirt.
Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs 1,00,000 for the cause.
Azhar’s comments
“I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of Rs 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020,” Azhar had tweeted.
Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in a Day/Night Test. He scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.
“The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won. It has the signature of all the players who were in the squad,” Ali said in a video message. Both these things are close to my heart. If it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy.”
PTI