Tendulkar's camp auction fetches Rs 12 lakh

The October Joy of Giving week Charity Auction of an exclusive private coaching camp with Sachin Tendulkar on eBay India (www.ebay.in) has successfully closed at Rs12, 00, 000 (Rs 12 lakh), the most expensive transaction on eBay India till date.

The auction to win a one-day private cricket coaching camp by Tendulkar ended with 99 bidders and 1,024 unique visitors.

The final hours of the auction saw a bidding war which resulted in a tie between a Whirlpool employee and two philanthropists who both bid Rs 600,000 each for this unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

While Whirlpool saw this as an opportunity to give some of their star performing employees a reward, the philanthropists were seeking to give underprivileged children the chance of a lifetime.

The tied winners agreed to pool in their bids, with Sachin too agreeing to coach both sets of bid winners - the resultant Rs12,00,000 will be donated to Apnalaya, a charity supported by Sachin.

The 'Master Blaster' has created one more record of sorts by becoming part of the highest transactions ever on eBay India.

The Sachin charity auction was an initiative of the eBay India Charity Fundraising programme, dedicated to helping NGOs create awareness through cause marketing and auctioning celebrity memorabilia and merchandise for sale to millions of global and Indian users.

The camp will start at 9 am and last for three hours, followed by lunch with Tendulkar.

It will include coaching on batting technique, inputs on fitness, practice routines to follow, developing match readiness and psychological training.