India-South Africa ODI Series Called Off Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Mumbai: The remaining two ODIs of the ongoing three-match series between India and South Africa have been called off due to a coronavirus pandemic.
Positive cases of the novel coronavirus in India increased to 81 on Friday. The series has been called off keeping in mind the safety of players and officials. A BCCI official confirmed the development, quoting news agency ANI.
Coronavirus was labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organization earlier this week. More than 1,32,000 positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, surpassing the 5000 marks. The Government of India is taking all possible steps to control the spread of the infectious virus.
The Ministry of Health has already warned against organizing large-scale programs to avoid mass celebrations.
After the first ODI at Dharamshala was washed out due to rain on Thursday, the second and third ODIs between India and South Africa were expected to be played behind closed doors in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively.
According to a BCCI official, the games have now been called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not only the India-South Africa series, but major sporting events around the world have been affected by coronaviruses. The Premier League and UEFA competitions were postponed to Friday.
Also Read: IPL 2020 Postponed Due To Coronavirus Pandemic, To Start On April 15
The new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been postponed. The BCCI issued a statement on Friday confirming that the IPL 2020 will start from April 15 due to the threat of coronavirus. The tournament was scheduled to begin on March 29, claiming that matches could be held behind closed doors.
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