Former Indian cricketer and Baroda stalwart Jacob Martin continues to battle for life at a Vadodara hospital. He is currently on ventilator support after meeting with a serious accident on December 28. Martin had sustained injuries to his liver and lungs due to the accident. His treatment, however, had hit a roadblock when the hospital refused to treat him due to lack of funds.
According to a report in the Mumbai Mirror, Martin’s wife Khyati Martin has then written a letter to the BCCI to seek help for her husband.
“Since yesterday they have stopped providing medicine to Mr Martin though he is in ventilator. I earnestly request you to send me help at the earliest so that I can save his life. Due to emergency, may I request you to kindly deposit in the bank account of Sterling Hospital,” she wrote to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri on Saturday.
BCCI replied swiftly and immediately credited Rs 5 lakh into her account. The Baroda Cricket Association have also granted Rs 3 lakhs.
Sanjay Patel, former secretary of the BCCI and the Baroda Cricket Association, has taken charge of facilitating all the help for Martin’s family. He was one of the first ones to come forward to support the family and has since received a word of support from many cricketers – both current and past. Recently, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly extended a helping hand to Martin.
“I have conveyed to Mrs Martin that she shouldn’t hesitate to contact me if further assistance is required,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
And now India allrounder Krunal Pandya has also come forward to help Martin in the tough times. The Baroda star has handed Martin family a blank cheque, requesting them to fill any amount they want. Incredibly, Krunal also added that the amount should not be lesser than Rs 1 lakh.
“Sir, please fill up whatever is needed, but nothing less than Rs 1 lakh,” Krunal told Patel, as quoted by The Telegraph.
Apart from Ganguly and Krunal, the likes of Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra have also come together to support Martin. Martin played a total of 138 First-Class matches scoring 9192 runs. He played for Baroda and Railways in the domestic circuit and led Baroda to their maiden Ranji Trophy title in 2000-01 season.