Virat, Rohit memorabilia attract big bucks at charity auction

Virat Kohli`s signed India jersey

India batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma headlined sales at a charity auction, called Cricket for a Cause, organised by India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul and his wife Athiya Shetty recently.

Kohli's signed Team India jersey and gloves were sold for R40 lakh and R28 lakh respectively while Rohit's signed bat got a buyer who paid R24 lakh.Virat Kohli's signed batting gloves

Both of Kohli's items were from the 2019 World Cup campaign, where he scored 443 runs, while Rohit's blade was from the 2023 World Cup in which the explosive opener amassed 597 runs. Rohit's batting gloves from the same tournament went for R7.5 lakh.

Rohit Sharma's signed bat

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Proceeds from the auction, a total of R1.93 crore, will go to the Vipla Foundation which helps underprivileged children with hearing impairments and intellectual disabilities. The auction showcased 27 items from various Indian and international cricketers.

Other notable items sold at the auction include former India captain MS Dhoni's IPL 2024 bat, which was bought for R13 lakh, KL Rahul's Team India Test jersey (signed by the team) and former India coach Rahul Dravid's bat went for R11 lakh each. Jasprit Bumrah's signed 2023 World Cup jersey went for R8 lakh. It was a memorable tournament for the pace ace as he claimed 20 wickets in 11 matches to emerge the fourth-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

MS Dhoni's signed bat

The online auction also had items related to Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant, up for sale.

Among the international names, South African Quinton de Kock's wicketkeeping gloves were sold for R1.1 lakh, Englishman Jos Buttler's Rajasthan Royals jersey for R55,000 while West Indian Nicholas Pooran's Lucknow Super Giants jersey was purchased for R45,000.