DDCA drops plans to felicitate Kohli, Gambhir and Sehwag in the wake of Pulwama terror attack

The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) has dropped plans to felicitate India captain Virat Kohli along with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

The DDCA had decided to felicitate the three 'Delhi legends' before the start of the final ODI between India and Australia on Wednesday.

The decision was taken by DDCA after BCCI decided to not only call off the IPL opening ceremony but also donate the entire budget of the event for the welfare of the families of the martyrs.

"We had plans of felicitating Sehwag, Gambhir, and Kohli but we decided against it since BCCI is also not having an opening ceremony of the IPL," DDCA President Rajat Sharma told PTI on Monday.

"We have also decided to donate Rs 10 lakh to Delhi Police's Martyrs Fund. As of now, 90 percent of the tickets that were put on public sale has been sold out," Sharma said.

On February 14, a suicide bomber in an explosives-laden car had targeted a large CRPF convoy that was moving north on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. The resulting blast caused enormous devastation and forty personnel of the paramilitary force were martyred. The Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack minutes after the full scope of the attack became clear.

The DDCA for the first time is giving a couple of VIP passes to all the former international players from the state. "All ex-players from Delhi, who have represented India deserve respect. This is the least we can do for them when an international match is being held," Sharma said.

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Currently, the series between India and Australia is tied 2-2 with the fifth match to be played in the National Capital. The hosts had made a strong start, winning the first two matches. But the visitors bounced back in sensational fashion to win the third and fourth ODI, which included a record run chase in Mohali on Sunday.