Team India pays tribute to Pulwama martyrs; wears army cap in match
Players donate match fees to Soldiers relief fund
Ranchi: As a mark of respect for the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama terrorist attack, the Indian cricketers Friday sported special Army caps during the third ODI against Australia and donated their match fee to the National Defence Fund.
Captain Virat Kohli came out for the toss wearing the camouflage military cap, which had the BCCI's logo on it. However, a top official of the Board made it clear that it was a one off gesture and rejected media reports that this could become an annual practice.
"The circumstances in this case are extraordinary, we don't have plans to make it an annual affair," the official said.
Kohli urged everyone to contribute towards the National Defence Fund so that the money could be used for the welfare of the families of the slain CRPF Personnel.
"This is a special cap, it's a tribute to the Armed forces. We're all donating our match fees of this game to the National Defence Fund. I urge everyone in the country to do the same, donate and stick to the families of our armed forces," Kohli said.
It is learnt that the idea for this tribute was floated by former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army.
Dhoni handed the caps to his teammates and the Indian cricket board put out a video of it on micro-blogging site Twitter.
A playing XI member gets Rs 8 lakh as match fees per game in ODIs and the reserve players get half that amount.
At least 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the Pulwama attack, for which Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility.
Earlier, the BCCI had decided to donate the entire budget of the IPL opening ceremony for the benefit of the families of those killed in the terrorist attack.
There will be no IPL opening ceremony this year.
#TeamIndia will be sporting camouflage caps today as mark of tribute to the loss of lives in Pulwama terror attack and the armed forces
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2019
And to encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of the education of the dependents of the martyrs #JaiHind pic.twitter.com/fvFxHG20vi
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Fan breaches security to hug Virat Kohli during Melbourne Test
Melbourne: A pitch invader sprinted onto the field during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and hugged Indian batting star Virat Kohli. The incident occurred in the first session of Day 2, causing a temporary halt in play.
As per reports, the intruder initially headed towards Indian captain Rohit Sharma before diverting his attention to Kohli. In a dramatic moment, the invader attempted to embrace Kohli, who wrapped his arm around the fan before security personnel intervened and escorted him off the field.
This incident unfolded amidst a charged atmosphere at the ground, where Kohli had been at the center of attention following his altercation with Australia's 19-year-old debutant, Sam Konstas, on Day 1.
Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fees for the shoulder bump, but the Australian media and former Aussie cricketers, including Ricky Ponting, felt that the punishment was not harsh enough.
