08 January,2010 08:13 AM IST | | Chandran Iyer
Gajendra Pawar, a contractor with an infrastructure firm can't wait to receive a very special telephone call today. It will be from his favourite cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar for having bid the maximum for the batting master's bat at a charity auction yesterday.
Pawar, who is chief of Pinnacle, bid Rs six lakh for the bat, but preferred to pay Rs 11 lakh since it was meant for a noble cause. Tendulkar's teammate Rahul Dravid, who was on stage at the time of bidding had unexpectedly announced that whoever bids maximum for this bat will get a call from his great colleague. When MiD DAY asked Dravid whether he consulted Tendulkar before making such an announcement, he said: "No, but I know Sachin likes to take part in social work. Hence, I am confident I will be able to convince him to talk to the person who bid maximum for the bat."
ABIL Foundation, part of the Pune-based ABIL Group which is into real estate, infrastructure and the hospitality sector, organised the cricket memorabilia auction to generate funds for Anandwan. The auction helped raise Rs 27 lakh.
