Tihar inmates to share pitch with Dhoni,Gambhir at jail’s games

“Dhoni and his team members have done a commendable job in last two years and have entertained cricket-loving crowds in every part of the globe. So we thought it is a good idea to call them at Tihar for a few hours. This will cheer our prisoners,” said a senior jail official.

Sources said the jail authorities will approach Dhoni,Gautam Gambhir,Yuvraj Singh and Ajay Jadeja to turn up for the Twenty20 match. Sources added that Dhoni and Gambhir have expressed interest in being part of the event,though they have not confirmed yet. “Nothing is confirmed yet. We can only tell you the details later,” said Sunil Gupta,Tihar Jail spokesperson. Jail officials say that if the cricketing stars attend the event,they would be only playing only a few overs to encourage the prisoners.

Officials said there are four participating teams at the Tihar Olympics. “If the cricketers come,each of the four teams will have at least one professional cricketer in its lineup,” added a source.

Sachin Tendulkar had played cricket at Tihar way back in 1994,while World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has also played there on a few occasions. Tihar Jail authorities invite sports celebrities to encourage sports among inmates. All jails inside the Tihar premises participate in the nine sporting events — cricket,volleyball,kho-kho,kabaddi,badminton,basketball,chess,tug-of-war and table tennis.