Back home after a gruelling three-week on the road, it's time for Kolkata Knight Riders to unwind playing golf and 'Putt for a Cause' -- to raise proceeds for the treatment of underprivileged children suffering from leukemia.
It was their head coach Jacques Kallis, an avid golfer, who led from the front along with CEO and MD Venky Mysore, Jason Holder, Brad Hogg, Morne Morkel, Colin Munro, Chris Lynn, Simon Katich, Adrian La Roux, Andrew Leipus for the second edition of 'Gionee Knight Golf' at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course.
"We're unbelievably lucky to get the support at Eden. The guys feel strongly about the community. When you go to charity and see people who're ill, it makes you realise there's more to life than just cricket. These people fighting for their lives," Kallis said.
"Certainly those important parts in a game aren't as important as you think they're. It sort of puts cricket into perspective. It's nice to have that feeling of giving back and putting smile on young faces gives us joy."
Later in the evening, KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir along with his teammates joined them for a putting championship.
The legendary South African further said it's golf which makes him relax away from the grind of cricket.
"I'm a big believer that when you away from the game, you should get ways to relax. You need to have something away from cricket that you enjoy. For me, it's golf," Kallis said as he checked in at the RCGC in the morning, less than 12 hours after they defeated Kings XI Punjab in a pulsating seven-run victory.
"It's been a fantastic trip on the road in the three weeks we were away. Most of our away games are done. It was a magnificent effort keeping in view that the guys were tired after a long trip. It just showed the fighting spirit, even as they were tired they managed to put in a big performance. I'm really proud of the way they played so far. They have been given couple days off deservedly.
Commenting on the initiative, KKR CEO and MD Mysore said they're looking forward to make this an annual affair as it's about giving back to the community who's been giving them an overwhelming support.
"It's a very special day for us. We started this with most of our players who are avid golfers. We decided to make the 'Knight Golf' a community event and identify young talents. It became a big success.
"We thought of converting this to a charity golf event. The players readily agreed to give their time. We're excited about the event in particular. Hope we will keep raising the bar. It gives an opportunity to give back to the community that is giving us so much. Hopefully we can take this from strength to strength."
"We will learn from this experience. The whole endevour is to connect with the community and give back to the community. We have a very innovative and creative team. It will definitely be an annual affair.
"At the same time will see how we can give back to community in different ways. We're grateful to our team who're always most willing to give their time. Anything to make a difference and touch lives.
