From Parliament to pitch: MPs battle it out in cricket field to spread awareness on TB

In a stark contrast to the often-heated exchanges between the ruling BJP and the Congress-led Opposition in Parliament, members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha took to a different field on Sunday morning — a cricket pitch!

Set against the backdrop of a bright morning, the Speaker’s XI and Chairman’s XI faced off in a friendly 20-over cricket match, with former Union Minister Anurag Thakur leading the Lok Sabha team and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju captaining the Rajya Sabha side.

The “TB Mukt Bharat Awareness” cricket match, held at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, aimed to promote awareness about tuberculosis and highlight the importance of public health in India’s journey toward becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) by 2047.

The event, first reported by The Tribune last week, ended with a convincing victory for Anurag Thakur’s Lok Sabha Speaker’s XI, who defeated the Rajya Sabha Chairman’s XI by 73 runs.

Thakur, a former Union Sports Minister, was the star of the match, scoring a remarkable 111 runs to lead his team to triumph.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey was adjudged the ‘Best Fielder’, while Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda was named the ‘Best Bowler’.

Additionally, BJP MP from North East Delhi Manoj Tiwari received the ‘Super Catch’ award. Union Minister Piyush Goyal presented the special awards to the winners.

Apart from the two captains and the award recipients, several parliamentarians participated in the match, including Imran Pratapgarhi from Congress, Raghav Chadha and Gurmeet Singh Hayer from the Aam Aadmi Party, former India captain and Congress leader Mohammad Azharuddin and actor-turned-politicians Ravi Kishan and Arun Govil, both from the BJP, among others.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also spotted trying his hand at batting.