IPL: Chris Morris honours Odisha’s ‘COVID Hero’ Nilachala Parida

Bhubaneswar: It was a proud moment for Odisha mountaineer Nilachala Parida as Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Chris Morris yesterday donned a jersey with the former’s name printed on it during the IPL match between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The South African cricketer honoured Parida as a ‘COVID Hero’ as the mountaineer had set up a vegetable shack during the lockdown and offered free home delivery to senior citizens.

Morris also temporarily renamed his Twitter profile name as ‘Nilachala Parida’ as a mark of respect for the man from Odisha.

The 24-year-old mountaineer, who resides in Bhubaneswar, started selling vegetables near Delta Chhak here during the COVID-19 lockdown to support his family and raise money for Government’s COVID relief funds.

He also delivered  vegetables to people staying within the radius of 10 km with no distance limit for senior citizens.