Rhino conservancy thanks Rohit Sharma for his 'significant donation'

Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya which is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa shared pictures which show that Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika met Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, back in 2015. Sudan died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in 2018, leaving only two females of its subspecies alive in the world. 

Rohit made a "significant donation" 

Ol Pejeta Conservancy, on Thursday, shared an Instagram post which said that Mumbai Indians cricket team captain Rohit Sharma and wife Ritika Sajdeh had visited the conservancy four years ago to meet Sudan and made a "significant donation" to their rhino conservation programme. In the post, they thanked Rohit for his visit and his huge following in India and the world because of which Sudan's story reached many, adding that the cricketer is actively associated with animal protection. 

The conservancy wrote on Instagram, "Rohit and his wife Ritika came to Ol Pejeta back in 2015 to meet Sudan, the last male northern white rhino in the world," sharing three pictures from the visit. Two of these pics show Rohit posing with the rhinoceros, while the third shows him and Ritika smiling for the camera along with a dog.  The images were re-posted by Ritika Sajdeh on Instagram on October 18.

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Sudan- the world's last surviving male white rhino

Sudan, the world's last surviving male white rhino, passed away on March 19, 2018, at the age of 45. Sudan had previously lived at the Dver Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic before being shifted to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in 2009. The conservancy made the decision to euthanise him due to the rapid deterioration in his condition. Rohit Sharma had shared an Instagram post for Sudan at the time, writing: "Rest in peace Sudan, you deserved so much better."

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Impressive start as an opener in Test cricket

India's star opener will feature in the third Test match against South Africa starting from Saturday. Rohit Sharma silenced his critics who were questioning his place in the side for the longest format of the game after a duck in the preparatory game. He was exceptional in the first Test match as he scored 176 runs in the first innings and then he went on to score 126 in the second innings. With this, he became only the second Indian opener to score centuries in both innings of a Test match. 

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