Wankhede to turn blue to support ICC-Unicef initiative for children

MUMBAI: The Wankhede Stadium will turn blue when India take on Sri Lanka in an ICC Men's ODI World Cup match, here on Thursday.

That will not only be because the Men in Blue will be playing at the venue where they won the 2011 World Cup, it is also because the ICC and UNICEF, in partnership with both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Sri Lanka Cricket are set to celebrate a new initiative, "One Day 4 Children", with a message of hope and support for every child to survive and thrive.

The initiative is part of the #BeAChampion campaign, harnessing the reach of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to build a better world for every child, and create equal opportunities for girls and boys.

"The sell-out fixture will see fans attending given an LED wristband that will be synced with a stadium-wide blue light show during the second innings. Players from India and Sri Lanka will support the One Day 4 Children message alongside other legends of the game, including UNICEF and ICC Ambassadors Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan," the ICC informed on Wednesday.

"Every international cricketer, including myself, started as a child with a dream," Tendulkar was quoted as saying ahead of the event by ICC.

"I look forward to joining hands with UNICEF to see my home ground at the Wankhede Stadium turn blue as we champion equality for children across the world," he added.

The One Day 4 Children match is part of a broader ICC Cricket 4 Good strategy and follows the launch of 'Criiio 4 Good', a new online, life skills learning initiative developed by the ICC, UNICEF and BCCI aimed at promoting gender equity among girls and boys.

The eight learning modules are available free of charge at criiio.com/criiio4good, with the Indian Ministry of Education set to promote the program to over 1.5m schools.