'It's the elderly who need the most support' - Irfan Pathan requests people to stop hoarding commodities amid Coronavirus scare

Amidst the global pandemic of Coronavirus, many cricketing icons have come forward and tried to raise awareness among the people regarding hygiene and looking out for each other in such times of distress. Notwithstanding, cancellation of sporting events, it is necessary for the people to cooperate with the government and stem the adverse effects of the disease.

A plethora of sporting events have either been called off or postponed in the wake of the outbreak of the pandemic. Amid the tense atmosphere, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to micro-blogging site Twitter, where he urged people to not stockpile essential commodities.

Irfan Pathan’s message on Twitter says: “In the times of #coronavirus please think about others. Specially elderly who need support the most. Neighbours… Stop #Hoarding”

The tweet has a cartoon where an elderly man is looking for groceries as a couple behind him has hoarded on to many items. The tweet does reflect the current times as news reports of people buying stocks of hand sanitizers, masks, toilet papers, among other items, have trickled in from across India and other countries.

Irfan Pathan was a part of Road Safety World Series

The left-arm pacer bowler was recently part of the India Legends team in the Unacademy Road Safety World Series where past greats from Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies had also joined. A bevvy of superstars, including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Brian Lara, Carl Hooper, Jonty Rhodes, Tillakaratne Dilshan, had congregated in Mumbai in early March. The tournament, though, after a few matches, had to be postponed due to the threat posed by Covid-19.

But in one of the games in the series, Pathan rolled back the years as he struck 57 off 31 deliveries against Sri Lanka legends team. The Indian Legends team was chasing Sri Lanka’s paltry 138 at Wankhede Stadium and was in trouble during the chase. But Pathan’s late blitzkrieg, which included six boundaries and three sixes, ensured a comfortable chase with more than an over to spare.

The 35-year-old from Baroda had made his debut in India’s tour of Australia in 2003-04 season and scripted memorable victories for India over the years in all the three – Tests, ODIs and T20s – formats of the game.