England cricketer Jos Buttler has raised more than 80, 000 US dollars by auctioning his ICC 2019 Cricket World Cup final jersey with the amount going to the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity in the UK to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. The 29-year-old wicket-keeper batsman had earlier decided to auction off his final jersey to help the emergency cause in the country. “It’s a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause,” Buttler had said in a tweet when he decided to auction his shirt. He put up the jersey for sale in eBay about a week ago and had attracted as many as 82 bids with the highest bidder paying a little more than 80, 000 USD.  Jos Buttler to Auction His ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Final Jersey to Raise Funds for COVID-19 Battle.

The money raised from the auction will go to the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity. Buttler had announced his decision and explained his reason for funding heart and lung centres in the hospital. “Last week they launched an emergency appeal to provide life-saving equipment to help those affected during the COVID-19 outbreak,” he had said in the tweet.

Jos Buttler Auctions His World Cup Final Jersey

Buttler was wearing the same shirt when he made the last-ditch run-out of Martin Guptill that propelled England to their first-ever World Cup title after beating New Zealand on boundary count. He had also hit a half-century in the final and played a major role in tying the match in the first place.

Meanwhile, England’s senior cricketers have come under the scrutiny after reportedly refusing to take a pay-cut to help the England cricket board cope up with the financial loss during the pandemic crisis. And although Ben Stokes refused to be drawn into the discussion a letter from the board’s chief executive to the players’ association head revealed that the ECB had received any sort of desired answer from the players when they put up the offer.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2020 12:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).