Australian cricket team's bats for charity

Chennai: The Australian one-day cricket team has donated two autographed bats to the India Vision Institute (IVI).

"The bats will be auctioned, which will assist IVI undertake vision screening of 7,000 children from underprivileged backgrounds in and around Chennai," said IVI's CEO Vinod Daniel.

The autographed cricket bats were presented to Mr Daniel by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) at a reception hosted for the team by the Australian Consul-General, Sean Kelly, in Chennai on Thursday.

"It is a laudable gesture. I thank the Australian cricket team, the ACB and the Australian Consul General for it," Mr Daniel said.

"I am sure Indians will appreciate this gesture by the team. I wish them a good season in India.It is a good opportunity for cricket lovers to acquire the bats autographed by the cricket stars," he added.

Mr Sean Kelly said, "I am pleased that the autographed bats will go towards a noble cause. There can be no greater gesture than supporting underprivileged children to lead better lives. I thank our team and also applaud IVI's initiative in undertaking the vision screenings."