Mushfiqur puts historic bat up for auction to raise funds against virus

One of the country's favourite cricketers, Mushfiqur Rahim, is planning to auction his most cherished bat to raise funds to fight the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the country.

The money from the auction will be spent to deal with coronavirus. Auction of cricket equipment for charitable work is rare in Bangladesh. However, in the face of the pandemic that is not sparing Bangladesh, 'Mushy' as he is affectionately known, has decided to put one of his favourite bats, that carries a bit of history with, under the hammer.

This was the blade with which he hit his first double century in Test cricket, also becoming the first Bangladeshi to achieve the milestone, against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2013. The entire proceeds from the auction will be spent towards helping the poor and needy.

When Mushfiqur decided to auction the bat, Shakib Al Hasan called for an initiative just a day before. 

Shakib said on Facebook Live, cricketers from many countries are auctioning their cricket equipment along with their T-shirts. "We can do anything like that. It can also be a bat with any of our autographs. We can auction these things through Facebook or the foundation."

The SS bat he used during the innings of exactly 200 (321 balls with 22 fours and a six) is going to be put up for auction by Mushfiqur Rahim. SInce then, Mushfiqur has gone on to score two more double-hundreds.

Mushfiqur talked about the possibility of an online auction in order to sell the historic bat: "I am going to put the bat I used to hit my first 200 up for auctions. I am thinking of auctioning it digitally. I will request everyone who can manage, to come to the auction and bid a high price for the bat. I am asking everyone to raise the price as much as possible." 

He also talked about the bat being special to him. "The bat is obviously special to me. My name is attached to a piece of history because of that bat. No one else can become the first double centurion (for a country)." 

England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year's World Cup final, was sold by the cricketer recently to raise money for fighting Coronavirus.

Pakistani legend Wasim Akram also auctioned a bat and ball signed by him for the same purpose.