Hyderabad, 19th May 2012: Deccan Chargers organised a CSR campaign in association with SACHI Initiative at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, ahead of the start of their 15th match against the Rajasthan Royals, yesterday.

SACHI - ‘Save a Child’s heart initiative’ is one of Asia's largest voluntary organizations dedicated to paediatric cardiac care and child heart surgery for the underprivileged. And Deccan Chargers has been supporting this initiative since 2011.

For today’s campaign, the Deccan Chargers team walked on to the field hand-in-hand with children who belong to the SACHI program in a pre-soccer match-like ritual. The players then lined up with the children in front of them. Following this Sangakara addressed the crowd on the SACHI initiative and their campaign supporting  the same, sharing real-life success stories of one of the SACHI kids:

“Teja was a 3 month old baby and an only child when his parents found out that he had a hole in his heart. Their perfect life had changed overnight, the only concern being to give their son a better life. In despair, they took him to several local hospitals seeking help but all treatments proved to be futile at the end.

Today however, Teja is a healthy year old baby with the help of SACHI.”

The Deccan Chargers’ skipper urged the crowd to support the cause saying, “Standing here with me, is a group of resolute children who are not afraid to dream. They are a part of the SATCHI Initiative. And their little hearts are in need of our helping hand to pull through. Today, we stand before you for something that’s larger than cricket. We are requesting you to spare a thought, have a heart for these extraordinary kids. We are asking you to “Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve” for them.

The children then tied an arm-band that said “Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve” around their respective player’s sleeve as a symbol of Deccan Chargers’ support to the cause.

The Deccan Chargers team will be wearing the arm bands to support this cause not only to raise funds for the cause but also to spread awareness on paediatric cardiac diseases and we request you to join us in the same.”

About Deccan Chargers:

Deccan Chargers is an IPL franchise that represents the city of Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. The Deccan Chargers franchise is owned by the Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited. Deccan Chronicle is the most-read English daily in Andhra Pradesh.

Deccan Chargers turned the tide in their favour by winning the second season of IPL -2009 in South Africa and making it to the semi-finals in the IPL-2010.

The Deccan Chargers mascot represents a raging bull signifying strength, power and aggression while the red and gold bands on the flag stand for dominance and victory.

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