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Cricket Australia has announced an initial donation of USD 50,000 towards the increasing Covid-19 cases in India. The cricket board has appealed to other Australians everywhere to give generously at this critical time. The money (Rs 37 lakhs, approximately) donated by the Australian cricket board is going to be used to procure oxygen for seriously ill patients, provide testing equipment in affected regions, and support the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. Along with the Australian Cricketers' Association, CA is also partnering with UNICEF Australia to accumulate funds for the COVID-19 Crisis.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders seamer Pat Cummins has donated an amount of 50 000 US dollars for India's fight against Covid-19. The Australian issued a statement on Twitter to confirm the same. Cummins stated that his amount might not be enough, but it could help someone in need. In a piece of information on his official Twitter account, the pacer made the announcement and also urged other players to do the same, considering the country is battling a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Australian players Pat Cummins, Brett Lee donated earlier
Cricketers from all around the world have started contributing towards the cause after Pat Cummins. The Australian pacer is currently in India, plying his trade for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021. Former Australian pacer Brett Lee has also donated 1 Bitcoin (Rs. 40 lakhs, approximately) to the Crypto Relief Fund to help his second home India. Veteran Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who had contracted coronavirus last month, has also donated Rs 1 crore to a fundraising campaign. DC opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan pledged Rs 20 lakh towards Mission Oxygen and any cash reward he receives in the remainder of the IPL 2021. Recently, Virat Kohli led RCB took the initiative to wear a special Blue jersey which will later be signed and auctioned, with proceeds going to healthcare infrastructure related to Oxygen support.
All eight teams of the Indian Premier League have also made significant donations towards the cause over the last few days. A massive rise in COVID-19 cases has placed a huge strain on India's health system. There has been a shortage of hospital beds and oxygen supplies. India reported 392,488 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. This has now pushed the total cases to 19.56 million. Deaths in the country jumped by a record 3,689, taking the overall toll to 215,542.