‘Don’t shake hands with each other’ - Ravi Ashwin uses creativity to raise awareness amidst growing coronavirus threat

Over the last few days, the world has been going though a phase of turbulence. The coronavirus has been wreaking havoc and there’s severe concerns across the globe. The death tolls have increased at the rate of knots and there’s no stopping the deadly virus from inflicting its wrath. Shaking hands have also been banned across various fields, including cricket and other sports.

England are currently in the land of Sri Lanka for a couple of Tests, starting Thursday, March 19 at the Galle International Stadium. It has been decided that the English cricketers will be greeting the Lankan counterparts with fist bumps instead of handshakes. Joe Root, the Three Lions’ skipper, said that the visitors won’t be shaking hands as a precautionary measure.

Ashwin making Rohit aware

The English Premier League, the renowned football tournament, also banned pre-match handshakes amidst the treat of coronavirus. The coronavirus cases have surpassed 98,000 with the death tolls over 3,300. In the meantime, Indian off-break bowler Ravi Ashwin had a message for Indian limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

It was regarding raising awareness of the virus. Ashwin asked Rohit to not shake hands. He posted a picture on Instagram where Rohit was seen, approaching Ashwin for a handshake.

Here is Ravi Ashwin’s post

Rohit was recently a part of the T20I series against New Zealand. However, he developed a calf injury and missed out on the Test and ODI series that followed the shortest format. It’s not yet known whether he can attain fitness for India’s upcoming ODI series versus South Africa. Rohit will also be leading the Mumbai Indians in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

On the other hand, Ashwin played the Tests in New Zealand. He will now be plying his trade for the Delhi Capitals in the 2020 IPL. In the last two seasons, he was the skipper of the Kings XI Punjab side, but couldn’t take his team through to the playoffs. Hence, the franchise released him off his services and appointed KL Rahul as the skipper. It remains to be seen how both cricketers perform.