Dhoni slammed for donating Rs 1 lakh to fight COVID-19

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is under fire for allegedly donating just Rs 1 lakh to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Several sportspersons have come forward with donations and extended support to tackle the coronavirus situation in India and around the world. However, fans are not happy with the amount that Dhoni has reportedly pledged in this regard.

As per reports, the cricketer donated the money to a public charitable trust in Pune to help feed 100 poor families and daily wage workers in the city during the lockdown announced in a bid to combat the COVID-19. He is said to have donated via the crowd funding portal Ketto to the Mukul Madhav Foundation. 

While some fans lauded his effort. Others were not so kind. Twitterati were quick to criticise Dhoni, pointing out that the amount that was said to have been donated was meagre considering his net worth of Rs 800 crore and he should have given more. Netizens also compared his contribution to that of former cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who pledged Rs 50 lakh—the highest donation by an Indian sportsperson—and also Sourav Ganguly, who came forward to donate Rs 50 lakh worth rice to the needy affected by the countrywide lockdown.

Dhoni’s wife Sakshi, however, has slammed news reports suggesting that the cricketer had only contributed Rs 1 lakh, and called them fake news. Taking to Twitter, Sakshi said media houses should not carry false news “at sensitive times like these”. 

“I request all media houses to stop carrying out false news at sensitive times like these ! Shame on You ! I wonder where responsible journalism has disappeared ! (sic),” she tweeted.

It is to be noted that the fundraiser’s goal was to achieve Rs 12.5 lakh. Reports say that Dhoni is the top donor in the fundraiser which will be used to provide essentials to the poor and daily wage workers during the nationwide lockdown.

India is under a 21-day lockdown announced in an effort to encourage distancing and prevent the rapid spread of the coronavirus. So far, over 700 positive cases have been reported in the country, with 20 deaths.

Other sportspersons who came forward with donations and other contributions include Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan, who jointly donated protective masks, P.V. Sindhu, who donated Rs 10 lakh, wrestler Bajrang Punia, who is also an officer on special duty with the Railways donated six months’ worth salary, and Hima Das who pledged one month’s salary to Assam’s COVID-19 relief fund.

Check out some reactions of netizens to reports of Dhoni’s contribution: