Afridi buys Mushfiqur's bat

The historic bat with which Mushfiqur Rahim scored the country’s first double-century in Test cricket and recently put up for auction to raise funds for Coronavirus relief fetched a cool Tk 1.7 million (17 lakh) in an online auction Thursday night.

The buyer turned out to be the former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who agreed to buy it as a piece of memorabilia for his foundation at $20,000 (Tk 17 lakh approximately).

"I would like to thank everyone who was associated with this auction, particularly those honest bidders. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Khan Afridi has bought the bat on behalf of his Shahid Afridi Foundation," Mushfiqur wrote on social media.

"I am privileged and honored that a huge personality like Shahid Afridi has participated in our noble cause so special thanks to his foundation as well," the 32-year-old added.

"Assalamualaikum Mushfiq, what you're doing for your countrymen is truly amazing. Only real life heroes can do something like that. We are going through a tough time, and we need to support each other in order to recover from this situation," Afridi said in a video message for Mushfiqur.

"The amount of love and respect I have received from Bangladesh over the years will always be remembered. On behalf of the people of Pakistan and the Shahid Afridi Foundation, I would like to purchase your bat and be a part of your journey. My prayers are always with you and I hope Allah helps us recover from this pandemic. I hope to see you on the cricket field soon. Thank you."



Dhaka/Mukul