Reports | Coronavirus scare forces Road Safety World Series go close doors

With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) as a pandemic, there is growing concern about the sporting leagues, with the National Basketball Association suspending the season until further notice, following a player on the Utah Jazz testing positive for COVID-19. In India, the Road Safety World Series T20 matches will face a course correction.

Sportstar reported that four league games at Pune’s MCA stadium have been called off and two matches, scheduled to happen at the DY Patil (DYP) stadium in Navi Mumbai, maybe staged before empty stands. However, there is no confirmation regarding the Pune games if it would be slated later or not. 

Maharashtra government had already cleared their stance to cancel all public gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The ongoing five-nation cricket series is the first sporting event in India to be affected by the restriction on fans assembly, with big events around the world like - La Liga - have gone closed doors already. Yesterday, Bangladesh Cricket Board postponed the World XI v Asia XI matches which were scheduled to take place on March 21 and 22 in Dhaka.

On the other side of the world, Ireland’s Six Nations match against France was postponed until October and the Indian Wells tennis tournament in the US was cancelled to prevent the further spread of the virus. Formula One also confirmed that its upcoming Grand Prix in Bahrain will be closed-door event while the Chinese Grand Prix, which had been scheduled for April, was postponed.