Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli’s wait prolongs for resuming individual training

Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane will have to wait longer to start practising individually. The players are residing in Mumbai, which has been given the status of being a red-zone in the massive coronavirus outbreak across the globe. Hence, the Maharashtra government has ruled out the opening of sports facilities in Mumbai.

However, the government has opened the grounds and stadiums for individual practice in green and orange zones. The decision was taken after the home ministry gave some relaxations for the fourth phase of the lockdown, which will be until May 31. Mumbai and its neighbouring areas like Mira Bhayandar, Vasai Virar, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Dombivili have been put under red zones.

Till then nothing will be resumed: MCA official

“We will strictly adhere to the norms of the state government with regard to the opening of stadiums and sports facilities,” a senior MCA official was quoted as saying in The New Indian Express. In Maharashtra, there have been over 35,000 positive cases with around 1,250 losing their lives.

The likes of Rahane, Rohit and Virat will have to wait a bit for now. The MCA has three facilities- the Bandra Kurla Complex, the Wankhede Stadium and the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana in suburban Kandivili. But then, as per government directives, the venues will remain closed. “Till then nothing will be resumed,” the official stated.

The Brabourne Stadium, which is located off the Marine Drive, won’t be available for practising cricket either. In India, over 1,07,000 cases have been registered with the ungodly virus accounting for the lives of over 3,300. It’s been over two months since the lockdown started. In Mumbai, the COVID-19 cases have risen to 22,563 with 1,411 new cases.

All three of Kohli, Rahane and Rohit were set to play in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, after the lockdown was extended to May 3, the tournament had to be postponed for an indefinite time period.

Prior to that, India’s ODI series against South Africa also had to be shelved, bearing in mind the current scenario. In July, India are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka, but it hasn’t been postponed yet for the time being.