Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with BCCI (the Board of Control for Cricket in India) President Sourav Ganguly via video conference amid the coronavirus lockdown. Former Indian captain Ganguly will hold a video conference from his home in Kolkata. It is reported that Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian skipper Virat Kohli can also take part in this meeting. This will be the first time that the Prime Minister will hold a meeting with a sports body after the implementation of the lockdown.
In this meeting, PM Modi is expected to discuss the contribution of sportspersons and celebrities in the campaign to spread awareness about Coronavirus and combating its spread. BCCI has reportedly contributed 51 crores in the PM’s relief fund to fight against this pandemic.
While Indian captain Virat Kohli and his wife and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma provided Rs 3 crore. Virat and Anushka have appealed to the citizens of India, several times to remain indoors during the lockdown. Many cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, women’s cricket team star Mithali Raj have donated money in the fight against this COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Modi had recently thanked the sports fraternity for contributing to the PM-CARES fund and supporting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He tweeted, “I am very happy that our hardworking sportspersons are at the forefront of the battle to defeat COVID-19. I would like to thank @sharad_kumar01, @ImRo45, @singhesha10, @M_Raj03 for their contribution to PM-CARES.#IndiaFightsCorona.”
Although there is no confirmation, the Board President Ganguly can also raise the issue of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League which has been postponed till April 15 due to the pandemic, in this meeting. The 13th edition of the cash-rich league was scheduled to start on March 29. Despite the seriousness of the current situation, the BCCI has not yet cancelled the IPL altogether and the board is waiting for the lockdown to end on April 14 to draw up further plans.
The meeting of the board and the owners of the IPL franchise is reported to be held after April 14 where the fate of the tournament will be discussed along with its venue and the ground plan.
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