The second wave of the COVID-19 virus took India by storm and affected many families. While lakhs of new cases were registered every day, thousands of people also lost their lives to the deadly virus. Fortunately, many prominent personalities and organizations have come forward in these testing times to support the needy ones. Now, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has also joined the bandwagon of helping citizens in the fight against the pandemic.

RCB’s parent company Diageo has pledged to donate INR 45 crore to enhance public healthcare infrastructures in one district of each state and union territory in India. The franchise owners have also set up oxygen plants in government hospitals of 21 districts to create long-term oxygen capacity. In addition, they have also provided 16-bed mini-hospital units in another 15 cities to increase bed capacity.

Speaking of the noble step, Anand Kripalu, the managing director and CEO of Diageo India, said the company wants to stand by Indian citizens in these testing times. He also asserted that Diageo mainly focuses on providing hospital beds and oxygen concentrators to every state and union territory in India.

We hope our contribution goes into every state and UT: Anand Kripalu

“At a time when the country is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, we want to support the government’s efforts and stand by the citizens of India. Long term medical infrastructure especially hospital beds and self-sufficiency in oxygen is what is needed most and we hope our contribution going into every state and UT will help play a part in India’s recovery,” RCB quoted Kripalu as saying.

RCB stands united with the citizens of India in the fight against the pandemic. 🤝@AnandKripalu #1Team1Fight #Diageo #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/LREu7pkWzZ

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 24, 2021

Meanwhile, many members of the cricket fraternity have come forward to help citizens in this crisis. While Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma initiated a fundraiser for COVID-19 relief, Hanuma Vihari has a team of 100 members to help common people with necessities. The likes of Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan have also donated oxygen concentrators to needy ones.

Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic also forced BCCI to suspend the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 midway. Hence, the board now faces a daunting task of conducting the remaining 31 games in a jam-packed cricket calendar. Meanwhile, the Indian team is currently gearing up for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand next month.

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