Charity auction raises 11.16 lakh

Kolkata : An auction of rare cricket memorabilia, including a piece of Irish linen containing autographs of 97 legends, raised a huge Rs 11.16 lakh at a charity auction. Taken from the private collection of a cricket crazy autograph hunter Nishant Singhal, the items which went under the hammer included miniature bats bearing signatures of past and present greats of the game, autograph books and souvenirs. The linen, the piece de resistance of the lot, fetched a staggering Rs 4.25 lakh while the autographs of the 1933-34 Indian team went for Rs 2.40 lakh. The 90cm X 60cm linen, with autographs of cricketing greats like Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Dennis Lilee, Sunil Gavaskar, Hanif Md, Kapil Dev, Richie Benaud, Steve Waugh and Hansie Cronje, was bought by a businessman Jagdish Sarda at a glittering auction dinner at a five star hotel. However, an autograph book with signatures including that of legendary bowler and bodyline exponent D R Jardine went for only Rs 5,000. A bat containing autographs of West Indians on their 1974 tour to India, which marked the arrival of a new hero in Vivian Richards into the cricketing world was also up for grabs in the auction. Indian cricket's legendary spin trio of Bishen Singh, B S Chandrasekhar and E A S Prasanna, along with Mandira Bedi were present at the auction. The proceeds would be used to fund the Bless a Child programme of the Lions Club International. (PTI)