Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli's batmaker battling financial, health crisis during COVID-19

A renowned Mumbai-based batmaker Ashraf Chaudhary was a constant presence at the Wankhede Stadium during matches. A popular figure among several members of the Indian cricket team, he would often wait near dressing rooms to fix or shape-up cricket bats for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and several others. He runs a small shop named 'M Ashraf Bros' in Mumbai itself but its business has now taken a massive hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli bat-maker faces a series of health issues

A few weeks ago, Ashraf Chaudhary was admitted to a Mumbai hospital due to some health complications. While speaking with The Indian Express, his long-time friend Prashant Jethmalani revealed that Chaudhary is facing kidney stone problems along with some other complications. Jethmalani further shed light to the situation by saying his health is not good at the moment and he has completely run out of funds due to lack of cricket amidst the lockdown phase.

Prashant Jethmalani has been raising funds for Ashraf Chaudhary’s health and has already gathered ₹200,000. However, he stated that they would be requiring more. Jethmalani also urged cricketers to make some donations from their end, because Ashraf would often fix their bats for free and never asked for money in return. He said Ashraf’s business will now take a further hit because the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season will be taking place outside India next month.

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Ashraf Chaudhary’s contribution for players

Apart from fixing bats for Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Ashraf Chaudhary has also the done the same for the likes of Steve Smith, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Faf du Plessis whenever they play in India. Moreover, he even showcased his generosity to the entire West Indies squad of the 2016 T20 World Cup by donating them 16 bats without charging a penny. According to the publication, Ashraf Chaudhary did the same after reading about a financial tussle between the West Indies cricketers and the West Indies Cricket Board. Interestingly, the West Indies team later went on to defeat a rampaging Indian unit in the semi-final, en route to their title victory against England in the final.

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Image credits: BCCI Twitter