Coronavirus: Rohit Sharma donates Rs 80 lakh for fight against COVID-19

Tags: India, Rohit Gurunath Sharma, COVID-19

Published on: Apr 03, 2020

Indian opener and limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has donated Rs 80 lakh in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Rohit, has donated Rs 45 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to the Prime Minister and CM's Relief Fund (Maharashtra) respectively. Further, he has contributed Rs 5 lakh to "Zomato Feeding India", which is trying to help families hit by the 21-day national lockdown, and a further Rs 5 lakh for the welfare of stray dogs.

"We need our country back on feet & the onus is on us. I've done my bit to donate 45lakhs to #PMCaresFunds, 25lakhs to #CMReliefFund Maharashtra, 5lakhs to @FeedingIndia and 5lakhs to #WelfareOfStrayDogs. Let's get behind our leaders and support them @narendramodi @CMOMaharashtra," the batsman tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Maharashtra is among the worst affected states in India as far as the Coronavirus pandemic is concerned. While 225 positive cases have been reported till Tuesday morning, the death toll has crossed 10. In India, over 1,200 have been affected due to COVID-19 while the death toll has risen to over 30.

Rohit is not the only cricketer to have donated generously. Tendulkar donated Rs 50 lakh while Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma pledged their support towards the PM-CARES Fund and Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund without disclosing the amount.

Further, former India middle-order batsman Suresh Raina donated Rs 31 lakhs to PM-CARES Fund, and Rs 21 to UP CM's Disaster Relief Fund for the fight against Coronavirus while India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has pledged a donation of Rs 10 lakh to the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Cricketer-turned-politician and Lok Sabha MP Gautam Gambhir last week released Rs 1 crore out of his MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. He also donated his one month's salary to the Central Relief Fund. "It is time that all resources of the country be directed towards fighting COVID-19," he tweeted.

Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been postponed until April 15. However, given the current circumstances, it is highly unlikely that the T20 event will go ahead. The Tokyo Olympics has also been pushed back by a year while all the major sports events stand suspended as of now.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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