RCB to don 'My Covid Heroes' tribute jersey during IPL 2020
Sep 17, 2020
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 17 : Royal Challengers Bangalore will be paying tribute to the 'COVID-19 heroes', in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), who have been fighting on the frontline of this raging pandemic.
The Virat Kohli-led side will don a tribute jersey with the message 'My COVID Heroes' both during training and matches for the entire tournament. The message will be displayed on the back of both the jerseys.
The IPL 2020 is slated to be played from September 19-November 10 in the UAE across three venues -- Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
RCB will also be supporting GiveIndia Foundation by donating the proceeds from the auction of the jerseys that players wear during their first match of the season.
Also through the season, RCB players will be sharing some of the inspirational stories pertaining to the 'COVID heroes' on the team's social media handles with the intent to inspire millions of RCB fans to embrace the hero spirit.
"Royal Challengers Bangalore has always stood for playing bold in the face of adversities, and we believe that right now these COVID Heroes are embodying this purpose by relentlessly fighting for the greater good. Humanity is going to be grateful to them for many generations to come and through this campaign, we wanted to be among the first to pay tribute to their challenger spirit both on and off the field," Sanjeev Churiwala, Chairman, RCB said during the jersey launch.
On the other side, skipper Virat Kohli said that whenever he heard the stories of 'COVID heroes', he got goosebumps.
"In the past few months, whenever I heard the stories of the COVID Heroes it has given me literal goosebumps. These real challengers have made the country proud and inspired all of us to be more persistent and dedicated to our efforts to build a better tomorrow. I am truly proud to wear RCB's "My COVID Heroes" jersey as a sign of solidarity and gratitude to everyone who is right now going the extra mile to support the community at large. They have batted day and night and fought on the field, and I am honoured to call them my heroes," said Kohli.
During the launch, RCB players including Kohli, Parthiv Patel, and Devdutt Paddikal were seen interacting with 'Real Challengers' Simranjeet Singh, Hetika Shah, and Zeeshan Javid who have worked tirelessly and have created a strong positive impact in these trying times.
Simranjeet Singh has hearing impairment but that did not stop him from helping others in the pandemic. He approached people to raise donations for the poor suffering in the pandemic and many deaf individuals agreed. Simranjeet Singh along with his friends raised Rs 98,000 to help people.
Another hero is Hetika Shah who during COVID-19 developed 'Four-S Shield'- the first Indigenously made N99 Mask certified by the NABL lab. Developed by Shah, the 4S SHIELD face mask covers all four sensory organs and aims to help frontline workers treating COVID-19 patients.
And the last hero is Zeeshan Javid who is helping migrant workers in need by delivering milk, as it is a vital commodity for children. He started Mission Milk and began funding it with his pocket money. He along with his brothers started by providing 60 litres a day and slowly scaled up to distributing 500 litres of milk every day.
This way, the team has distributed 20,080 litres of milk among 40,000 children living in 45 different areas of North Bengaluru.
