Hyderabad, March 6: After becoming an MP in Rajya Sabha, it seems that Master blaster and 'God of Indian cricket' Sachin Tendulkar started taking his role seriously. He is on his way to woo the people of this country beyond cricket.

This time he launched a research centre on gastrointestinal and liver cancers at a hotel in Hyderabad on Tuesday, March 5. Sachin was accompanied by another legendary cricketer VVS Laxman while releasing a book on gastrointestinal cancers.

While inaugurating the research centre - Gastrointestinal and Liver Foundation for Research and Treatment (GIFT), Sachin was quoted as saying, "I think the greatest gift someone can get from doctors is life."

"I don't think there is anything more valuable than that. Hopefully there will be more smiling faces with the help of this foundation," he added.

Supporting Sachin's cause, the local boy Laxman said, "GIFT is a gift to the society" citing the increasing number of cancer cases in the country. Here it can be recalled that cricketer Yuvraj Singh also had suffered from cancer and he is a warrior who had defeated the fatal disease.

"Not just cities but even the rural parts of Andhra Pradesh will be covered," informed Dr D Nageshwar Reddy while commenting on the centre which is a brainchild of 100 gastroenterologists from India and the US.

The research centre in Hyderabad would aim to estimate the true incidence of prevalence of digestive cancers by developing a GI cancer registry. It is believed that the GIFT would also provide competitive grants to research scientists to enhance understanding of digestive cancer prevention and treatment.

OneIndia News