Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have donated Rs 5 lakh each o families of five CRPF soldiers martyred in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14. Meanwhile, the recent Pulwama Terror attack has created a stir countrywide as a Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) rammed an explosives-laden car into a CRPF bus, killing at least 40 personnel and leaving many critically wounded. On the back of it, India have cut several ties with the neighbouring country.
In the wake of the attack, there were several calls for boycotting the Pakistan game in the upcoming ICC World Cup. However, ICC has cleared their position saying that they will continue with the game. Besides, the game has witnessed massive craze for tickets. The application for tickets have already crossed 4 lakh for a 25000 seater stadium in Manchester. Most recently, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir called for a complete boycott of Pakistan in the World Cup. But it is unlikely to happen so as India will lose crucial points in they don’t appear for the game and can also face stern action from ICC.
Meanwhile, there were donations from all spheres to the families of the martyrs and Kings XI Punjab also took on the noble cause. The franchise gave cheques to the kin of five CRPF jawans hailing from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The name of the martyrs are Jaimal Singh, Sukhjinder Singh, Maninder Singh, Kulwinder Singh and Tilak Raj. Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin, DIG CRPF V K Kaundal were present at the event.
Previously, BCCI did away with the IPL opening ceremony this year. Instead, they decided to give the money allocated for the event to the families of the martyrs.
Punjab aims to lift maiden title
Kings XI Punjab are desperate to end their barren run in the cash-rich tournament. The team led by Ravichandran Ashwin have some quality players in their ranks. The batting-order looks solid with Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul and Mayank Agarwal making up the top-order. The spin department also seems settled with Ashwin leading the charge along with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. The Tamil Nadu has a few variations up his sleeves and can turn the heat in this kind of tournaments.