Beaming faces of young kids – Mubasir, Kishan Kumar, Kiran and Pallavi – said it all. It was a cricket match where runs and wickets did not matter at all, but gestures did. For, some of the lead players of Sunrisers Hyderabad including captain Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy turned up for a 'friendly' match against the juvenile cancer patients at the Apollo Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad to lift their morale.
'A wonderful experience,' chortled Pallavi as the players spent more than 45 minutes with the juvenile patients. Much to the youngsters' delight, Steyn and Darren Sammy made it a point to exchange pleasantries with them before the cricketing contest began. Captain Shikhar Dhawan wished the kids lead a more pleasant life ahead. 'It's always a touching experience to meet kids who show lot of courage, battling against all odds,' he said.
Steyn hoped that these patients will hit cancer for a 'huge six'. Dr. P. Vijay Anand Reddy, Director, Apollo Cancer Hospital, reminded that children cope with cancer treatment better than adults and recover much faster too! He added that in India, around 45,000 new cases of childhood cancers are diagnosed every year. Most cancers in childhood are curable, in fact 80% of all childhood cancers are curable and in contrast only 65 percent of adult cancers are curable.
