COVID-19: Pune-based museum makes winning bid for Azhar Ali's bat

Pakistan Test skipper Azhar Ali has announced he has managed to raise in excess of two million Pakistan rupees following the auction of two of his prized possession.

Azhar had earlier set the auction price at 10 lakh Pakistan rupees each for his bat with which he scored a triple hundred against West Indies and the Champions Trophy 2017 jersey wherein Pakistan were crowed champions. The jersey also had signatures of all the players from the squad.

Before putting up the items for auction, Ali had revealed the proceeds will go towards country's fight against coronavirus pandemic.

Now, the Pakistan Test skipper has revealed that the bat went to a cricket museum, Blades of Glory, based out of Pune in India while the Champions Trophy jersey went to an individual living in California, USA.

"I would like to announce the winners of the auction. Blades of Glory Cricket Museum got the bat for 1 million and Kash Villani from California got the CT shirt for 1.1 million. Congrats and thank you for your support. Also would like to thank Jamal Khan from New Jersey who donated 10 per cent of the highest bid," he tweeted on Thursday.

In 2016, Azhar had become the first international player to score a triple century in pink-ball Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies in UAE.

Cricketers around the world have put up their respective equipments for auction to help generate funds for the needy.

Earlier Royal Challengers Bangalore teammates Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers announced they were giving away items from their historic 226-run stand against Gujarat Lions for auction.

Bangladesh cricketers Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim have also pledged their respective bats for auction to generate funds for the all-important fight against the global pandemic.