Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma wore shoes with the message 'Save the Rhino' during the opening match of IPL 2021 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday (April 9).
Rohit had launched the Rohit4Rhinos campaign, in partnership with WWF India and Animal Planet, in 2019 to spread awareness for the need to conserve the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros or the Indian Rhino.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen was glad to see Rohit using the world's most popular T20 league to highlight the important message. “The great man’s boots last night in the IPL opener. Rohit Sharma continually playing for a cause – SAVING RHINOS!”, he tweeted.
When Rohit had joined the campaign to protect Rhinos, Dr Dipankar Ghose, Director, Species and Landscapes, WWF India had thanked the India cricketer. "WWF India would like to thank Rohit Sharma for being the voice of conservation and for his continuous support in raising awareness about the greater one-horned rhinos.
"Decades old stories of rhino conservation success in India need to be told and we believe that the campaign Rohit4Rhinos being implemented in partnership with WWF India and Animal Planet will also be able to bring attention to the challenges that conservationists face in protecting the species."
Talking about the clash between MI and RCB, the Rohit-led side lost the match by 2 wickets as Bangalore chased down the 160-run target on the last ball. Mumbai will play their next match on April 13 against Kolkata Knight Riders.
