Pink helmets and the Jalandhar connection

When the South Africans wore pink in the opening ODI in Johannesburg on Thursday in aid of breast cancer awareness, the 'Indian connection' wasn't just restricted to the opposition. The pink helmets were manufactured and sent to South Africa by an Indian sports goods company based in Jalandhar, Punjab. Anand Vasu, in Wisden India, traces the association between TK Sports and a two-time South African hockey olympian who sourced the helmets in an emergency, for a good cause.

The range of helmets, called Shrey, gets its name from Shrey Kohli, the youngest member of the TK Sports family business. On November 17 last year, an enthusiastic Shrey got on the road from Jalandhar to Kanpur, intending to deliver a batch of equipment personally to Suresh Raina and some other Uttar Pradesh players. He would never make it as he was killed in a car crash, at just 21, when his life in cricket was just beginning.