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Mumbai, on Saturday, hosted an exciting match where Bollywood actors and politicians faced off in a friendly T-20 game played under the TB Mukt Bharat campaign, aimed at raising awareness about tuberculosis (TB). Abhineta XI, led by actor Suniel Shetty, beat Neta XI, captained by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, by two wickets.
Following the match, Shetty spoke about how people used to perceive politicians as individuals who "wore only kurtas and used their brains." However, today, in a "new India," they are not just intellectually sharp but also physically fit. "Abhineta and Neta played together and defeated TB... Earlier, we used to think of politicians as those in kurtas and pyjamas, who used their brains only, but now, look how fit they are, as the game requires physical fitness... It's a new India and newer politicians. MPs are athletes, and the message that should go out from here is that TB has been defeated..." the actor told ANI. Anurag Thakur, who led the Neta XI team, also shared his thoughts on the match while speaking to the media. "The way we hit fours and sixes today, sending the ball beyond the boundary, TB will be thrown out of India the same way. 'TB haarega, India jeetega!'" Thakur said. The Neta XI team, led by Thakur, included politicians such as Kamlesh Paswan, Ram Mohan Naidu, Manoj Tiwari, Mohammed Azharuddin, Irfan Pathan, Shrikant Shinde, Lavu Sri Krishna, Deepender Hooda, Gurmeet Hayer, K. Sudhakar, and Chandrashekhar Azad. On the other side, Abhineta XI, captained by Suniel Shetty, featured Bollywood celebrities such as Sohail Khan, Sharad Kelkar, Raja Bhervani, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Freddy Daruwala, Sameer Kochhar, Navdeep Tomar, Sunny Deol, Abhishek Kapoor, Siddharth Jadhav, and Muddasir Bhat. In December 2024, parliamentarians under Rajya Sabha Chairman XI and Lok Sabha Speaker XI played a friendly cricket match at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium to raise awareness about TB. (ANI)
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