Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals on Thursday announced a contribution of INR 7.5 crores (over $1mn) towards Covid Relief to help with immediate support to people in India impacted by the surge of Covid-19 virus.
Players along with the team owners and team management have come forward to raise funds and have been working along with the Rajasthan Royals' philanthropic arm Royal Rajasthan Foundation (RRF) in partnership with the British Asian Trust (BAT).
BAT works closely with the Indian Government on many initiatives -- especially in the area of skills and education. The Trust's founder, Prince Charles, launched an emergency "Oxygen for India" appeal, which is currently focused on the acquisition and distribution of oxygen concentrators, devices that can provide enriched gas straight from the air, to treat patients when hospital supplies are under strain.
The funds raised by Rajasthan Royals will help pan India, with an initial focus on the state of Rajasthan, where the RRF, Chaired by Ranjit Barthakur, has numerous initiatives it continues to support.
Having the team owners and its players come together has enabled this initiative to reach the scale it has, providing aid to tackle the current crisis and help people get the single most pressing necessity at this time -- oxygen.
Earlier, cricketers like Pat Cummins and commentator Brett Lee donated to aid India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cummins donated USD 50,000 to the PM Cares-Fund to help Indian hospitals buy oxygen supplies while Lee donated 1 BTC (Bitcoin) to Crypto Relief to help the country in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The surge in the COVID-19 cases continues to affect India as the country records 3,79,257 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike in the cases since the pandemic began last year.
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