Indian players to donate match fees for 3rd ODI to National Defence Fund

What's the story?

The Indian cricket team, while paying tribute to the country's armed forces on Friday, decided to donate whole of their match fees for the 3rd ODI against Australia to the National Defence Fund.

In case you didn't know...

In the middle of last month, a shocking blast took place in South Kashmir's Pulwama, killing plenty of CRPF personnel. This attack saddened the whole country, including cricketers and other celebrities. Everyone came forward in support of the family of soldiers.

Similarly, to pay homage of the security forces killed in the act, the Indian cricket team also came up with a special gesture.

The heart of the matter

Team India had announced their decision to wear special camouflage caps for the 3rd ODI against Australia at Ranchi and later also decided to donate the match fee to National Defence Fund.

It was made public by the official Twitter handle of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In a video released, players were seen wearing these special caps.

India skipper Virat Kohli also affirmed that they are wearing camouflage caps and donating the match fee in homage of Pulwama attack victims.

"This is a special cap, it's a tribute to the Armed forces,” Kohli said after the toss.

He added, "We're all donating our match fees of this game to the families of the martyrs. I urge everyone in the country to do the same and stick to the families of our armed forces."

To pay homage to the martyrs of Pulwama Terror Attack, the players will donate today's match fee to the National Defence Fund #JaiHind pic.twitter.com/vM9U16M8DQ

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2019

What's next?

India won the toss and elected to bowl first in third ODI at Ranchi. The Men in Blue are currently ahead by 2-0 in the five-match series. They will be aiming to clinch the series with a clinical performance in the third ODI.