Mumbai: Ashraf Chaudhary once fixed his damaged bats. Now cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has taken it upon himself to help the ailing bat repairer. Ashraf Chaudhary has been hospitalised for considerable amount of time.
The bat-maker is known as ‘Ashraf Chacha’ in cricketing circles. He has been admitted to the Savla hospital since the last 12 days due to diabetes. He also has pneumonia related complications.
The bat-maker’s close friend Prashant Jethmalani said Tuesday that Tendulkar has come forward to help the man who once made bats for him. “Tendulkar has spoken to Ashraf Chacha. He has also helped him financially. A major chunk of the finances has been donated by the legendary batsman.”
Ashraf has fixed bats of several noted cricketers including Tendulkar, Virat Kohli. However, he fell on hard times due to COVID-19 as both health and business took a beating. He is an ever-present figure inside the Wankhede Stadium during international and IPL matches.
Even international players like Australian Steve Smith, West Indian Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard have all hit sixes with bats mended by ‘Ashraf Chacha’.
The bat-maker owns a shop M Ashraf Bro, which is situated at Dhobi Talao in South Mumbai. There have been plenty of times when he has repaired bats for free just for his love for the game and the players.
