Bhatia to receive Mother Teresa award

Shyam Bhatia, the patron of the Dubai Cricket Council and an ardent cricket enthusiast who sponsors and promotes the sport around the world, has been selected for the 2012 Mother Teresa International Award. He will receive the award in Kolkata on April 28. Speaking to Gulf News soon after receiving the invitation for the award from the Indian state Government of West Bengal, Bhatia said: "I am extremely honoured and humbled by this award. For me cricket is a way of life and it is gratifying to see that my efforts to spread this game, especially among children who cannot afford to play it, is being recognised." This award, initiated in the memory of Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was established in 2001. It honours eminent personalities in the fields of education, science, sport, social work, culture, industry and politics. The awards' recipients include Hillary Clinton, Rajiv Gandhi, Shaikh Hasina and Girija Prasad Koirala. Bhatia's contribution to the sport attracted the attention of the awards' committee, headed by a former governor of West Bengal, top statesmen and industrialists, as well as sports and entertainment personalities. "All that I wish to spread through cricket among children is integrity, honesty, dignity, truth, courage, sportsmanship, and a burning desire to be excellent human beings," added Bhatia, whose charity initiative is named Cricket for Care.