Ajinkya Rahane generously donates Rs 5 lakhs towards drought relief in Maharashtra

Ajinkya Rahane was the captain of the Indian team on the tour of Zimbabwe

Talented Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane showed great heart and generously donated Rs. 5 lakhs for drought relief in Maharashtra. The 27-year old presented the cheque to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, on Monday, to help farmers in the state suffering because of drought.

The chief minister acknowledged the noble gesture from the cricketer and said that the money will be utilised towards the implementation of the state’s scheme of Jal Yukt Shivar Abhiyan, the aim of which, according to the state’s official website, is to make Maharashtra a drought-free state by 2019.

Over the past couple of months, the condition in the state of Maharashtra has been severe, with the drought leading to farmer suicides and loss in agricultural production. The Chief Minister has been criticised over the lack of response from the government’s side.

Soon after the cricketer’s gesture, the CM thanked Rahane and tweeted a picture with the Indian batsman.

Thank you @ajinkyarahane88 for contributing ?5,00,000/-for #JalYuktShivar Abhiyan,an imp step for agricultural devpt. pic.twitter.com/PkzsTWMmnT

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) September 14, 2015

Rahane, with this contribution, joins a host of other cricketers who have provided monetary support to various social causes over the past, thus underlining the fact that the rich Indian cricketing community, have time and again, managed to prove that the sport is indeed a gentleman’s game.

Rahane has been a vital cog in the Indian batting line-up over the past few years and has also proven to be an excellent fielder in the slips. In the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, Rahane was India’s third highest run-getter notching up 178 runs in three tests, which included a hundred in the second test in Colombo. He even broke the world-record for taking 8 catches in the first innings of the test in Galle.

Rahane has also shown his capability to lead the side, when he captained India, in the absence of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, in a short series against Zimbabwe, winning four of the five matches.