Kapil Dev prepares to help out slum children

Friday, 16 January 2004, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Kapil Dev is bringing together some of the greats of Indian cricket and Bollywood as he prepares to plunge into charity work for the sake of slum children. The legendary cricketer will organise a double-wicket competition here in February, featuring Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Aamir Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Mahima Chaudhary. The profits from the match, which will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, will go towards a newly launched NGO Khushii, of which the 45-year-old former India captain is the founding president. "It will be a double-wicket tournament in which six teams, each comprising a cricketer and a film star, would compete on February 22," Khushii's joint secretary Lavika Singh told IANS. The event will also feature Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan besides film stars Sunil Shetty, Akshay Khanna, Vivek Oberoi, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Fardeen Khan. While the cricketers have confirmed their participation, the film stars will make it only if they have no shooting schedules. Khushii will use the proceeds from the match for the betterment of slum children in and around Delhi. "We want to collect as much funds as possible," said Lavika Singh of Khushii, which was founded last month and launched on Kapil's birthday on January 6. "With Kapil at the helm, there is a possibility of a good collection from the event," added Lavika Singh. "We are still working out whether there will tickets or we should only issue passes." With the motto "spend a while, spread a smile," Khushii is concentrating on food, shelter, health, education and employment for the slum children. "We are going to use the funds generated from the match on the uplift on slum children in a holistic manner," said Lavika Singh. "Our aim to attack the problem of these slum children at its origins." Lavika Singh said the aim was to discourage these children from taking up menial jobs, which often lead them to "bad habits". The entire profits generated from Kapil's recently launched autobiography, 'Straight From the Heart,' will also go to Khushii, the cricketer had announced at the release function of his book. Kapil, an emotional person who never flinches from calling a spade a spade, has donned several hats after he ended his illustrious career in 1994. Besides being the coach of the national team, Kapil runs his own business, regularly presents cricket programmes on television and is the brand ambassador of several companies. But Kapil, who captured 434 wickets in 131 Tests and another 253 in 225 one-day internationals, spends most of his time these days playing golf, which has given him a few "golfing friends" whom he admittedly trusts and admires. Kapil's ambition is to represent India in golf -- which seems possible considering his rapidly growing mastery of the game.
Source: IANS
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