The Mumbai Indians have dedicated their next Pepsi IPL match against Pune Warriors here on Saturday to the underprivileged children of the metropolis as part of the team's initiative "Education For All".
Sachin Tendulkar termed the time he and his teammates spent with such children today as "very special".
"This event was one of the best that I have attended because all these children made our afternoon really special. After having attended this event I can say there are some really bright children here who can make our nation proud and I wish you all the very best," said Tendulkar.
"I congratulate bhabhi (team owner Nita Ambani) for this initiative. I think it will make the difference and the direction we want to go in. It's fantastic. We will be playing a game on the 13th. Almost 11,000 children will be watching that and Mumbai Indians will play for them," the senior batsman said.
MI captain Ricky Ponting also hailed the initiative.
"From the Mumbai Indians point of view and certainly from my point of view, it's been an emotional and uplifting sort of a day. To hear some of the great stories that have been coming out of this initiative holds the whole country in great stead for the future," said Ponting.
"Every one of these kids should be very proud of what they have done. Its not an easy thing to get up on stage and talk about yourself and talk about what you are doing, but every one from the Mumbai Indians today learnt a lot about you and learnt a lot about the programme.
"In two days time we will be playing for you guys and hopefully put on a good performance and we can win another game for you," the Australian added.
