India, Afghan join hands in polio campaign

Indian and Afghanistan cricketers joined the forces in an United Nations initiative with Suresh Raina and Nawroz Mangal exchanging the "Bowl Out Polio" cricket bats as a regional solidarity towards the elimination of the polio virus from the neighbouring countries. While most of the countries in world has been polio free for years, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only four countries that have never stopped the polio virus transmission.

Raina said it is their obligation as athletes to make sure every child has the opportunity to run and to play and they were happy to come together with the Afghanistan team for this important cause of awareness too. As long as India and Afghanistan continue to see the polio transmission, their neighbours are at high risk of reinfection.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that, if they do not end polio in India, the rest of the world will suffer. He added saying that, every parent must vaccinate their children regardless of travel schedules, work or anything else in their busy scheduled lives. He quoted that, nothing is more important than children's future.