Sachin Tendulkar auctions his bat, tie and t-shirt for orphan children in Pune
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar auctioned one of his bats, ties and t-shirts on Sunday for Rs. 15 million in order to raise funds for orphans in Pune. The entire amount that was raised by the auction subsequently went to the NGO SOFOSH (Society of Friends of the Sassoon Hospitals) which runs an orphanage in the state of Maharashtra.
The tie was a part of Sachin’s attire on his Test debut against Pakistan in 1989, while the jersey was worn in Cape Town in 2011, where he scored his last Test hundred.
Tendulkar, while speaking at the event, said: "Every person in this world is given a talent by God. After the talent has been identified, the talent has to be worshipped. To take the talent to bigger level is in our hands."
The 41-year old, who was presented with an audio-book on him made by the children, continued, "Inspite of various challenges, the grit and determination of the kids to make an audio book about me and then to share that joy with me was a big moment for me."
Tendulkar was awarded with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in the aftermath of his retirement last year in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cricket over the last 2 decades.
Social work in ‘2nd innings’
Now that he has finished playing the game, Tendulkar feels duty-bound to contribute to the good of the society in other ways.
"If the first innings was about excitement, thrill and joy, then my second innings would be about satisfaction through social work," Tendulkar, who is keen on helping install solar panels in villages in order to help children study, said on Sunday.
“After I retired from cricket, I have been trying to introduce various initiatives in order to better the lives of people who are in need. I will try my best from my side, but I also need your support in whatever work I do,” he added.
Recently he donated heavily for the flood affected people in Jammu and Kashmir.