Other celebs should follow Sonu Sood's footsteps: Ghavri

MUMBAI: Former India seamer Karsan Ghavri feels that celebrities from all walks of life - politics, films and cricket - should take a leaf out of actor Sonu Sood's book and help out the poor during the times of Covid crisis in India.
"In a crisis situation like this, why can't our politicians, film stars and cricketers, or sportspersons in general, do what he's done or doing. Others too can do it, but no one comes forward," Ghavri, who played 39 Tests, in which he took 109 wickets, and 19 ODIs (15 wickets) for India in the 1970s and 80s, told TOI on Tuesday.
In May, during the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sood helped thousands of stranded Indian migrant workers to reach their homes by arranging buses, special trains and chartered flights for them. In July 2020, Sood arranged a chartered flight to bring home over 1,500 Indians stranded in Kyrgyzstan. His charity during the pandemic has been lauded, and he has been hailed as a real-life hero. On 25 July 2020, during the pandemic, a video of a farmer's daughters ploughing a field, like bulls with a yoke on their shoulders, went viral on social media. Sood quickly sent the family a tractor.
"For me, he's the real hero. He has helped lakhs of people reach home during the pandemic. I've never met him, but from what I've seen in the media, I want to salute this person from the bottom of my heart. He's doing what so many of our big politicians, film stars or cricketers are not doing. I don't want to take names here, but tell me the name of one person besides him who's done something or come forward for the poor," Ghavri said.