Cricket Australia donates $50,000 to India's fight against COVID-19

As India’s fight against the second wave of the Coronavirus continues, more and more organizations and individuals are coming forward to take an initiative and extend a helping arm to do their bit.

The latest entrant in the list of donators who have contributed to assist India’s response to COVID-19 is Cricket Australia, who have made an “initial donation of $50,000” and have also “encouraged Australians everywhere to give generously at this critical time.”

Taking to Twitter Cricket Australia tweeted “Australian Cricket will throw its support behind the India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal by partnering with the @ACA_Players and @unicefaustralia to raise much needed funds. Donate to UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal: https://cricketa.us/helpindia.”

Further, a note attached with the tweet read as follows:

“Australian Cricket will throw its support behind the India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal, with Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, and UNICEF Australia partnering to raise much needed funds.

Australian Cricket has been deeply saddened by the devastation caused by this second coronavirus wave to hit India, a country with which Australians share a strong friendship and connection.

UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal is procuring and installing Oxygen Generation Plants in hospitals to treat seriously ill patients, providing testing equipment in heavily impacted districts and supporting the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX initiative. Cricket Australia will make an initial donation of $50,000 and encourage Australians everywhere to give generously at this critical time in India’s COVID-19 response.”

Australian Cricket will throw its support behind the India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal by partnering with the @ACA_Players and @unicefaustralia to raise much needed funds.

Donate to UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal: https://t.co/JWpslbtY2j pic.twitter.com/E0CMow6h8z

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) May 2, 2021

Australian cricketers Pat Cummins, Brett Lee donated earlier

Earlier, The Kolkata Knight Riders’ Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins donated US$ 50,000 “to purchase oxygen supplies for India’s hospitals” to PM Cares Fund, while former pacer Brett Lee, currently in India as part of the IPL 2021 commentators’ panel, made a cryptocurrency donation of 1 Bitcoin to assist India’s fight against the pandemic.

Apart from Lee and Cummins, several other cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik and Krunal Pandya, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan, Jayadev Unadkat, Nicholas Pooran have made contributions. IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals contributed $ 1 Million, while Delhi Capitals contributed INR 1.5 Crore in donations to the PM Cares. Recently, Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise took an initiative to wear a ‘special Blue jersey’ which will be signed and auctioned later with proceeds going to healthcare infrastructure related to Oxygen support.