COVID-19 Pandemic: PM Modi speaking with Sachin, Virat, Sourav Ganguly, and top Olympic sports athletes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is talking to India’s top cricketers via video conferencing, including captain Virat Kohli, former captain MS Dhoni, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and KL Rahul, amid a national lockdown to combat the spreading Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The pandemic has caused more than 50 deaths in India. The global death total has crossed 50,000.

Apart from the top cricketers, athletes who participating in the video call are P V Sindhu, Viswanathan Anand, M C Mary Kom, Hima Das, Neeraj Chopra, Amit Panghal, Vinesh Phogat, and Manu Bhaker.

A total of 49 athletes along with Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju are participating in the video call.

All sports activities are currently closed in the country and it is still unclear when the it will begin. The much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) event is suspended until 15 April.

When Ganguly was asked about the development, “Yes, I will be joining our Honorable PM via video call. But I cannot tell you what will be discussed.”, Ganguly said. The ministry source said that the sports athletes have been requested to spread awareness about social-distancing through their social media profiles/pages.