Kolkata: A city-based Sourav Ganguly fan club will distribute masks with the BCCI President's photo printed on them on his 48th birthday -- on Wednesday -- as part of their endeavour to help the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ganguly's fan group, 'Maharajer Darbare', have decided to distribute masks with Ganguly's 1996 Lord's debut photo on one side and the current photo as BCCI President on the other to those who cannot afford masks and also sell to those who want to buy.
The group, which has more than 10,000 fans from across the state, also plans to visit Ganguly's Behala residence on Wednesday morning with a few of those masks as a present for him.
"We know these are tough times so we cannot do a cake cutting ceremony as usual. But we are planning to visit Maharaj da's (as he is fondly called) place and hand him over some of these masks that we have made," Sayan Samantha, one of the administrators of the group, said.
"There are also people who want to buy these masks with Maharaj Da's face on it. We will sell them at our making cost that is Rs 50 and the money we collect from selling them, we want to help feed 48 families on Dada's 48th birthday," he added.
Every year, members of the group distribute sweets and cakes for school children but in the current situation, they have decided to help those in need and join the bandwagon.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly played 311 ODIs and 113 Tests for India. He made his debut against West Indies in 1992 and played the last match against Australia in 2008. Ganguly is also the third fastest batsman to score 10,000 ODI runs. The southpaw took 263 innings to enter into the exclusive club. The table is led by Virat Kohli while Sachin Tendulkar sits in the second position.
