Azhar Ali to auction jersey he wore against the Indian cricket team during 2017 Champions Trophy
Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali has come forward to donate the bat with which he scored a triple century against West Indies and the shirt that he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win against the Indian cricket team.
Through a video on his Twitter handle, Azhar Ali announced that he was going to put those two pieces of memorabilia up for auction, beginning at a base price of 1 million Pakistan Rupees each to raise funds for those suffering in these tough times.
Notably, the Pakistani batter made a 71-ball 59 against the Indian cricket team in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, which helped the Sarfraz Ahmed-led side register a mammoth 180-run win.
"This is the bat with which I made a triple century against West Indies in the day night Test match. This is the shirt from the Champions Trophy 2017 win which is signed by all the players from the Pakistan squad," said Azhar Ali in the video.
India and Pakistan squared off twice in the 2017 Champions Trophy, once during the group stages and then in the summit clash of the competition.
The Indian team registered a huge 124-run win to get their campaign off to a positive start, but lost the next match to Sri Lanka by 7 wickets. However, a 8-wicket against South Africa and a dominating 9-wicket win against Bangladesh helped India book a spot in the final.
Azhar Ali scored a half-century against the Indian team in the final
Pakistan, post the loss to India bounced back strongly to register a hat-trick of wins, including an 8-wicket win against hosts England to set up a summit clash with arch-rivals India.
In the final, Pakistan put up a daunting total of 338/4, and in reply, India folded for just 158. Azhar Ali finished the tournament as Pakistan's second highest run-getter, with 228 runs from five matches.
The Pakistan batter, in the video, claimed that he had planned to safely keep his bat and the 2017 CT shirt in his possession for a while, but is donating the two pieces of memorabilia to help with the welfare of his countrymen.
"These two things are very close to my heart, I thought I would keep them safely. However, during these testing times if this gesture helps those in need, I will be happy," he added.