Not all heroes wear capes. Some, like former cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar, simply support free heart surgeries for underprivileged children.

Mr. Gavaskar, who is part of the Heart to Heart Foundation, is raising awareness in the US about the economic barriers that prevent children from undergoing treatment for Congenital Heart Disease.

The H2H Foundation has recently launched the "Freedom from CHD" initiative that supports free heart surgeries for children in India, by way of a multi-city tour titled "Bat-for-Life" promoted by Gavaskar in the US.

The tour has so far covered cities like New Jersey, Atlanta, Fermont California, Milpitas - San Fransisco and Chicago. As a way of acknowledgment, Gavaskar also signed a bat each for those 'batting' alongside him to provide urgent medical care to children in need.

These life-saving surgeries will be performed by the Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals in India, which has performed over 10,000 surgeries, free of cost, since 2012.

In a short span of six months, the H2H Foundation has funded 400 such surgeries, while 34 surgeries have been fully funded personally by the legendary cricketer, Mr. Gavaskar himself.

While the numbers are encouraging, a lot more work still remains to be done.

The lack of affordable medical care in India for children belonging to economically disadvantaged families results in over 250 children dying every day due to Congenital Heart Defects (CHD).