India vs South Africa 2nd ODI to witness a full house amid Coronavirus outbreak

The fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak or COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 3,100 people while also infecting more than 1 lakh people worldwide so far. Furthermore, the deadly disease has also wreaked havoc the international calendar of various sporting events all across the world. The virus infection has even put the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020 under huge doubt because of coronavirus infections

Amid increasing fears of Coronavirus, there were suggestions that the upcoming cricket events will be playing behind closed doors but that’s not an option. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly has ruled out any threat to the world’s premier tournament, IPL or the three-match ODI series between India and South Africa.

BCCI President Ganguly said that all the upcoming events will go ahead as planned while also adding that the senior officials and authorities are keeping a tab on the situation and will give absolutely everything to fight the disease. As far as India is concerned, around 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported so far.

Lucknow organisers set to take all possible measures

The first ODI is scheduled to be played on Thursday at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala where less turnout of fans is expected due to coronavirus scare. The organisers in Lucknow are pretty sure of a huge turnout in the second ODI match at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Sunday.

Amid coronavirus outbreak, UP Cricket Association and the Ekana Sportz City are claiming to have taken all possible measures so as to let the fans come to the stadium and relish the best game experience.

“So far all is well here as we have been taking all possible measures to avoid the coronavirus scare. Not only virus detectors, but also sanitisers in pouches will be made available to 50,000-odd fans to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19),” UPCA’s secretary Yudhveer Singh added on Wednesday.

“There is no threat of coronavirus to the match. We have been following all instructions issued by the health organisations, including government agencies. Virus detectors are being installed at all important entries, including those meant for players and officials. We will also provide sanitisers to all fans at the entry gates,” he said.

Talking about the issue of slow ticket sale for the first-ever ODI in the state capital, Udai Sinha who is managing director of the Ekana Sportz City, said that by Tuesday evening, 40-45 per cent tickets were sold out.

“Certainly, there are apprehensions among fans about the coronavirus, but I am very much sure of getting a good crowd at the match as there are still four days to go in the match. Most of the tickets are being sold online.”

He also admitted that low turnout of fans would cause more financial damage. “There are many stakeholders in the match, and the low turnout of fans would affect them financially too,” he added.