Former India and Mumbai batsman and current UAE head coach Lalchand Rajput has donated two priceless pieces of cricket gear — a stump from the MS Dhoni-led 2007 T20 World Cup-winning campaign and a CB Series-winning bat — to the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum, which will be inaugurated on Saturday, August 23.

“I had kept that stump with me as a souvenir, and it had autographs of all players from that winning team. I was happy to donate it to our MCA museum. I also gave MCA a bat autographed by our Indian players and a blazer which we received after winning the CB Series [Commonwealth Bank Series] in Australia in 2008,” Rajput, who was Indian team cricket manager then, told mid-day on Monday.  

“The stump and bat are part of some beautiful memories that I’ve cherished, but whatever I am today is because of Mumbai cricket, so I felt that instead of keeping that stuff with me, I should  give it to MCA. I’m sure many people will be inspired by these things which are part of some great Indian cricket achievements,” added Rajput, a former Mumbai captain.