Autograph - Yuvraj Singh (Cricket)

Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian cricketer who played internationally in all forms of the game. An all-rounder who bats left-handed in the middle order and bowls slow left-arm orthodox. One of the greatest limited over players to play for India, Yuvraj was particularly noted for his aggressive stroke play of the ball and his fielding.

He was the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and one of the top performers at the 2007 ICC World T20, both of which India won. In a match against England at the 2007 World T20, he famously hit six sixes in one over bowled by Stuart Broad — a feat performed only three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never in an international match between two teams with Test match status. In the same match, he set the record for the fastest fifty in Twenty20 Internationals and in all T20 cricket, reaching 50 runs in 12 balls. During the 2011 World Cup, he became the first player to take a 5-wicket haul and score a 50 in the same World Cup match.

In 2011, Yuvraj was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left lung and underwent chemotherapy treatment in Boston and Indianapolis. In March 2012, after discharge, he made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in September against New Zealand shortly before the 2012 World Twenty20.

In 2012, Yuvraj was conferred with the Arjuna Award, in 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri. On 10 June 2019, Yuvraj announced his retirement from all forms of International cricket. He last represented India in June 2017, against the West Indies.

Autograph - Virender Sehwag (Cricket)

Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978) is a former Indian cricketer. Widely regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen of all time, Sehwag played as an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and also bowled part-time right-arm off-spin. He played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian test side in 2001. 

Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319 against South Africa at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai), which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai). In March 2009, Sehwag smashed what was till then the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls. On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark. His score became the highest individual score in ODI cricket—219 off 149 balls which were later bettered by Rohit Sharma—264 off 173 balls on 13 November 2014. He is one of only two players in the world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket, the other being Chris Gayle.

Sehwag retired from all forms of International cricket on 20 October 2015. On 31 October 2017, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) honoured Sehwag by naming Gate No.2 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium after him.

Autograph - Devarapalli Prakash Rao - (Padma Shri)

 

Devarapalli Prakash Rao, a tea seller at Cuttack Bakshi Bazar was conferred with Padma Shri award in 2019. The reason is that despite being from a poor background, he teaches 80 children. His sole income comes from selling tea. He has been selling tea for the past 50 years. His meagre income did not stop him from imparting education to poor children.

He opened a small school ‘Asha O Ashwasana’ and asked slum parents to send their children to the school. His school is upto class three and after that, he takes the effort to get them admitted into a government school.

                                          GIFTED BY - SAROJ RANJAN KAR, ODISHA

Autograph - Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (Cricket)

Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (born 1 November 1974), commonly known as VVS Laxman, is a former Indian cricketer and currently a cricket commentator. Laxman was a right-hand batsman known for his elegant strokeplay who played mostly in the middle order. He was a Test match Specialist and is regarded as one of the Best batsman in the longest format of the game. He is known for his numerous match-winning and match-saving innings, and his special ability to consolidate unprecedented support from non-specialist tail-end batsmen to do this has accorded him a unique status among cricketing legends.

Laxman performed outstandingly well against the best team of his time, Australia, and his knock of 281 against them in Eden Gardens in 2001 is often considered as the greatest ever test-innings. In 2011, Laxman was awarded the Padma Shri award, India's fourth highest civilian award. He is the mentor of IPL franchise team SunRisers Hyderabad.

Laxman is one of the few players to have played 100 Tests without ever playing in a Cricket World Cup. In domestic cricket, Laxman represented Hyderabad. He also played for Lancashire in the English county cricket. He was also the captain of the Deccan Chargers team in the Indian Premier League during its inaugural season. In 2002, he was named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. Later, he played for the Kochi Tuskers IPL team. In 2012, Laxman retired from international cricket.