'Let's stay strong' - Virat Kohli comes out with a message to spread awareness about Coronavirus

World cricket has massively been hit by the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Several scheduled tournaments have been cancelled in order to prevent the virus from spreading by allowing mass gatherings. First, it was India-South Africa ODIs which were called off and Australia-New Zealand ODIs followed the suit.

England have pulled out of their upcoming Sri Lanka tour. Many overseas players at the Pakistan Super League have also left for their home nation. In fact, the Indian Premier League which was supposed to begin on March 29 March has now been suspended till April 15.

The Indian Captain Virat Kohli finally had his say after the two ODIs against South Africa were cancelled and postponed until further notice. On Saturday morning, the 31-year-old took to Twitter to send a message to his fans.

‘Please take care everyone’: Virat Kohli

The tweet posted by the prolific batsman read– “Let’s stay strong and fight the #COVID19 outbreak by taking all precautionary measures. Stay safe, be vigilant and most importantly remember, prevention is better than cure. Please take care everyone.”

The Indian team was in the middle of the South Africa home series when the chaos of the virus spread across the quarters. The first ODI had been abandoned due to consistent rain but it was decided the next ODIs will behind close doors.

The second and third ODIs were scheduled to be hosted in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively. But, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced that it had called off the tour. It is estimated at this time that the three-match ODI series will take place some time later.

The Indian government has decided to suspend all the international visas until April 15. This could have been a huge factor in the BCCI’s decision to call off the series mid-way. Such incidents have happened in the past but a virus has never been the reason.

Not only cricket, but other sports are getting affected as well. In Europe, many major football leagues have been either cancelled or delayed due to the outbreak. All this had started when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a pandemic.