MS Dhoni's World Cup-winning bat is up for grabs

The bat that won India the World Cup will be up for grabs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who hit the winning six in the World Cup final on April 2 in Mumbai, has decided to put up the prized willow for auction. It will go under the hammer in London on Monday. The India skipper will host a gala dinner at London’s Hilton Park Lane, where the auction will take place.

“It will be one of the prized items at the auction,” said a spokesman for the Mahendra Singh Foundation, which is organising the event. Besides the bat, most of Dhoni’s cricketing gear used in the final will be put up for auction. Cricketing equipment of a few  Team India players are up for sale too.

Also up for auction will be the ball used in the final. The ball was signed by Muttiah Muralitharan. The final, it may be noted, was the Sri Lankan spin wizard’s last international game.

Dhoni has also commissioned an artwork on Sachin Tendulkar by young painter Sacha Jafri. The painting on the maestro will be sold live that night.

The ‘Captain Cool’ has lined up a mega star cast for the event. Besides the entire Indian team, members of the England squad and businessmen from India and England have been invited for what the Dhoni camp said will purely be a private function.

The night will also have its share of ubiquitous glamour quotient with a host of Bollywood celebrities present. Former India captain Ravi Shastri will be the MC, while former India skippers Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble are also expected to be present. The media will be kept out of the charity night.

The aim of the charity sit-down is to raise funds for Dhoni’s foundation headed by wife Sakshi. “The money raised at the dinner will go towards building a school in India to provide underprivileged children with the education to make them employable,” the spokesman said. This is the first major initiative by the foundation and the spokesman said Dhoni chose London for the event hoping to raise substantial funds.

Dhoni, currently in Taunton, could not be reached for a comment on the initiative, but the spokesman said the skipper often says that everyone cannot do everything but everyone can do something. “That’s the motto of our foundation,” he said.

The tickets for the gala night have been priced at £1,750 (approx Rs1.25 lakh) and £2,650 (approx Rs1.9 lakh). About 850 tickets are reportedly sold already. The event is being sponsored by Jean-Mairet & Gillman. Dhoni’s foundation, called ‘Winning Ways’, was established last year. It also has a tie-up with NGO Habitat for Humanity, a well-known NGO.