New Delhi: Players from the Australian men’s cricket team have decided to donate the prize money to help Sri Lankans in the economic crisis. The money is being donated for the support and welfare of families and children suffering due to the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
Our Aussie men have donated their prize money from the recent tour of Sri Lanka to support children and families impacted by the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades ? pic.twitter.com/XO3LaSGu7D
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) August 11, 2022
Cricket Australia tweeted and informed about the decision. The board wrote, “Our Aussie men have donated their prize money from the recent tour of Sri Lanka to support children and families impacted by the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades.” Another tweet stated that the donations will go to UNICEF Australia’s programs to support nutrition, healthcare, safe drinking water, education and mental health services in Sri Lanka.
Like on the field, Pat Cummins, Australia’s test captain and Aaron Finch, the white-ball captain, will be leading the donations. A total of 45,000 Australian dollars (25,36,294 lakhs in INR) will be donated by the team.
The Australian players have also expressed their gratitude towards the organisers and the local fans. Their act of donation also came up as a gesture of support and gratitude towards the nation and its people.
The Australian team toured Sri Lanka for a three T20I, five ODI and a two-Test match series starting in June. The visitors clinched the T20I series 2-1 while the hosts won the ODI series 3-2. An exciting Test series ended in a tie of 1-1. Matches took place amidst the turmoil in the country owing to the poor economic situation and protests demanding the resignation of the then President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. During the fifth ODI, the fans came into the stadiums wearing yellow and chanted Australia’s name even though Sri Lanka won that game. It was a sign of gratitude shown by Sri Lankan fans to the visitors.
