Shakib to auction 'favourite' bat to raise COVID-19 funds

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib-al-Hasan has decided to auction his favourite bat to raise funds in the country's fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the entire world.

In his bid to help financially, Shakib revealed on social media that he will auction his favourite bat and the proceedings will go to people in dire need of support in these tough times.

"I had said before that I want to put up a bat for auction. I have decided to auction the bat I used in the 2019 World Cup. It's a favourite bat of mine," Shakib said during a live session on popular social media platform Facebook.

The reason why this particular blade is special for Shakib is because it helped him score in excess of 600 runs at last year's showpiece tournament in England and Wales. He became the first cricketer to complete the double of 600+ runs and 10+ wickets in a single edition of World Cup.

Shakib is the second Bangladesh cricketer to put his equipment up for auction after wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim decided to do so earlier this week.

Mushfiqur put his bat for online sale with which he scored his first double hundred against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2013. He also urged people to contribute to the cause so that maximum funds could be generated.

"I am putting up the bat with which I made a double hundred for auction," Mushfiqur told Dhaka-based Bengali daily 'Prothom Alo'.

"It will be put up online, so let's see how we can go about it. I urge everyone with the ability to push up the price of the bat since the proceeds will be spent entirely for the poor people," he added.

More than 2.5 million people have been infected by the virus so far while in excess of 1.7 lakh individuals have lost their lives worldwide.