Sports For All! Nathan Lyon Donates Virat Kohli, Bumrah And Steve Smith Signed Bats For NCIC
Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli [Source: AP Photos, tavernersau Instagram]
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has donated limited edition bats, signed by national teammate Steve Smith and Indian cricket superstars Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to support the National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC). Each of these bats comes with a Braille sticker that reads “A sports for all.”
The NCIC, set to return this year, features Australian cricketers with a disability competing against each other to win the national championship.
Nathan Lyon donates bats for NCIC
On January 9, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon shared images of three limited-edition bats on his Instagram page. The bats features signatures of Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Taverners Australia are auctioning off these bats, and the proceeds will support programs aimed at supporting cricketers with disability, primarily the National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC).
The NCIC tournament will be making a return this year, where several players with disability will be competing against each other. Slated to be played between January 19 and January 24, the matches will be hosted by the Marchant Park in Brisbane. As many as 22 teams, representing seven different states and Australian territories will be taking part in the competition.
Notably, Nathan Lyon and Steve Smith as well as Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli all took part during the recently-concluded 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series.
Team India lost the five-match series by a 1-3 margin despite taking an early lead with a huge 295-run victory at Perth’s Optus Stadium back in November last year. The outcome also handed Australia a ‘Border-Gavaskar’ Trophy Test title for the first time in over a decade.