6 Cricketers batting for a cause

#3 Mahela Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene walks during a cancer charity walk

After the star Sri Lankan batsman lost his own brother to cancer, Mahela Jayawardene’s efforts to help attenuate the sufferings of those afflicted by the life-threatening disease were noticed. He is a big supporter of the HOPE cancer project.

In 2011, he took part in two separate days of a 27-day sponsored trek from the southern tip of Sri Lanka to its northernmost extremity, devoted to the project – covering a distance of 670km on foot. He also has plans to start the first ever cancer hospital in his country, a 750-bed cancer unit at Maharagama, a suburb in Colombo.