‘It’s unfortunate but right’: Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara after Road Safety World Series called off due to coronavirus

Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara expressed their disappointment but said it was the right step after The Road Safety World Series was called off due to the global outbreak of coronavirus, which was declared as a pandemic by World Heath Organization (WHO). The decision was taken after the Sports Ministry of India advised against any public gathering on sporting events. Initially the organisers had decided to shift the matches from Pune to the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai after cases of coronavirus were reported in Pune but they later on Thursday evening decided to cancel the entire tournament.

In a statement, the organisers said that the remaining seven matches in the series will now be played when the situation is conducive to hold public events with large gathering and there are no travel restrictions.

Speaking on the development, Tendulkar said that it was the right step under the circumstance to reschedule the tournament.

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“The rescheduling of this series, held to create awareness about Road Safety, is unfortunate yet the right step. We all hope and pray that the spread of novel coronavirus is contained.”

Lara echoed Sachin’s sentiment and said: “The situation is a little disappointing now but we are looking forward to come back and take part in the remaining games of the series.”

“People are hungry for cricket, they are hungry to see legends, like (Virender) Sehwag and Sachin (Tendulkar), when they come out to play cricket. So I think this tournament was awesome. The competition was even more than I expected.”

“It was very special, seeing Sachin back on the field again and seeing the crowd reaction,” he added.

Sri Lanka’s Romes Kaluwitharana said: “While I am a bit little disappointed looking at the current situation, but I am glad that the organizers are taking the necessary steps to ensure everything is under control.”

“I am looking forward for things to work out fine at the earliest so that we can come back and finish this series,” he added.

(With IANS inputs)