Kolkata Kight Riders co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday said he is hopeful of the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding and a deferred IPL going ahead with all the necessary health precautions in place.

More than 77,000 people have recovered from it so far, mostly in China where the outbreak started late last year.

Recently, Team India captain Virat Kohli had also called upon people to "stay safe and vigilant" in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

The IOC's executive board will meet via conference call to prepare an "information exchange" ahead of a series of talks with athletes' representatives, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations (IFs), planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Cricket Australia has not directed the players officially with its chief executive Kevin Roberts on Tuesday saying that players were individually contracted to their IPL teams and can make up their own minds to compete in the 2020 IPL or not.

In India, the shooting World Cup and Indian Open Golf has been postponed so far, while badminton's India Open was also deferred after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) suspended all World Tour and sanctioned events.

This year's 12-nation Copa America was also postponed until 2021 on Tuesday, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) said.

If the Coronavirus goes on to postpone the Tokyo Olympics scheduled in July this year, it will hit yet another prominent sporting event after it delayed the Indian Premier League to April 15 from the scheduled March 29 start.

Coronavirus Scare: Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has released a video urging Indian citizens to fight the novel Coronavirus battle.

Olympics 2020 Japan: Canada announced that it would not participate in the Tokyo Olympics, and the International Olympic Committee said the decision on the Japan Olympics would come within weeks.

Japan has asked for a one-year postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games over the global coronavirus pandemic, and the International Olympic Committee has agreed, the country's prime minister said Tuesday.

The Games were scheduled for July 24-August 9, but after telephone discussions between IOC president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a historic joint decision was taken for the first postponement of an Olympics in peacetime.

The 2020 Olympics, which were set for July 24-August 9 this year, were postponed until 2021 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week because of the coronavirus.

"The captain is the boss, I always believe that. The job of the coaching staff, as far as I'm concerned, is to prepare the guys in the best possible way to be able to go out there and play brave, positive, fearless cricket," Shastri said.

Meanwhile, BCCI and its affiliated association states have decided to donate Rs 51 crore into the PM-Care fund to help in the fight against Covid-19.

In a statement posted on the body's Twitter handle, IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said "we are deeply grateful to all the front-line workers who are risking their lives to fight this pandemic."

Akram also said that he listened to his gut feeling and former Pakistani captain, Imran Khan’s advice, to take Shahid Afridi on the tour to India when he was originally not supposed to be included in the squad.

Warner posted a time-lapse video from his official Insta account where he can be seen tonsuring his head with a trimmer in front of the mirror.

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has joined the list of celebrity donors who have donated money to tackle the onslaught of the Coronavirus. Sharma donated Rs 45 lakh to the PM Cares fund and sent Rs 25 lakh to the Maharashtra CM Relief fund.

Wimbledon was canceled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won't be played.

Coronavirus in India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the COVID-19 situation with elite sportspersons of the country.

The IPL was scheduled to start on March 29 but the onset of Covid-19 and the subsequent suspension of visas by the Government of India till April 14 had left the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI with no other option but to postpone the event till April 15.

The two nations have not played a full-series since 2007 due to the terrorist attacks on India by Pakistan-based outfits and the resultant diplomatic tension. They only play each other in ICC events and Asia Cup.

Earlier, Michael Clarke had said that Australian players who were keen to join the ludicrous Indian Premier League did not want to take on players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Earlier Shoaib Akhtar had made an appeal to Indian authorities to manufacture 10,000 ventilators to support Pakistan’s crumbling health infrastructure and an ailing economy.

Warner, who is the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, was swinging the bat like a sword and he suddenly bursts into laughter when the director says cut.

India tasted huge success under Dhoni, winning the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup at home. India also won the 2013 Champions Trophy under the Jharkhand dasher, who has not played any international cricket since India's semi final exit from the ODI World Cup last July.

The video has messages from BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Smriti Mandhana, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Harmanpreet Kaur, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj, all of them speaking about the importance of wearing masks and following the directives of the government in this fight.

The world will never be the same even when it is able to overcome the current crisis. In such a scenario, the way the game is played is also likely to change.

 The items to be auctioned also include their respective gloves and shirts from that particular game where both of them had scored centuries to power RCB to a challenging 248 for three against Gujarat Lions. RCB had won the match by 144 runs. 

Talking further about Kohli and Rohit, the 2011 World Cup winner said, "It is very difficult to compare both of them. Virat Kohli is unbelievable. His stats prove that. "But when your reputation is such that when you get out after a hundred, people say he has missed out on double hundred, that speaks volumes about you."

The young spinner, who now has made a mark for himself in the international arena, said that he no longer remembers what Sivaramakrishnan had said to him as his mind was blank at that stage.

Nancy Rausch shares 4 examples of the role data management techniques play in responding to COVID-19.

The post The role of data management techniques during COVID-19: 4 examples appeared first on The Data Roundtable.

Coronavirus Update: Monuments are under Coronavirus radar too! Two months after an Indian was tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, the central government is taking big steps in order to curb the impact of widespread infection in India.

In continuation of the travel advisory issued on March 11 and March 16, the following additional advisory has been issued.

The above mentioned Trust is the authorised body to manage and supervise the day-to-day activities and facilities of the samadhi temple.

According to the new guidelines put in place by the Delhi government, all passengers travelling back to India from these Coronavirus-hit countries will be sent to quarantine centres straightway after their arrival at the Delhi airport.

There will be no darshans in all the government-controlled temples in Himachal Pradesh in view of the possibility of people getting infected with the coronavirus in gatherings, the state government said in a statement.

Tamil Nadu has so far reported only one COVID-19 case and the 45-year old man unuder treatment in Chennai has recovered and two subsequent tests returned negative.

With coronavirus cases swelling in the country, the central government had on Monday banned the entry of passengers from the European Union countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till 31. 

In accordance with the state government guidelines, the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, that runs the world famous site, also decided to shut Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum, Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, Jaswant Thada and Ahhichatragarh Fort of Nagaur till March 31.

"Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra has been closed from today. Operations of all interstate buses -- incoming and outgoing from Jammu and Kashmir, banned from today," the Jammu and Kashmir Director of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) said in a tweet.

DGCA has also asked carriers to procure at least one universal precaution kit on every plane to be worn by crew members handling suspected positive cases of the Coronavirus.

Three premier hotels in Delhi's Aerocity directed to reserve rooms for quarantine.

The coronavirus impact could render 3.8 crore people jobless, which is around 70 per cent of the total workforce in the tourism and hospitality sector, according to a grouping.

As part of the precautionary measures, the district administration has advised tourists to vacate hotels IN two days and refrain from visiting Puri for now.

Most of the states and Union territories also imposed fresh restrictions on public transport and gatherings. In Delhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the closure of restaurants, but takeaway outlets will remain open.

The significant Vaishnavite temple had earlier issued an advisory asking devotees to bring masks and sanitisers with them as precautionary measures.

Delhi airport new standard procedure! Amid Coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recently issued some guidelines for Delhi Airport.

Major temples and places of worship across the country have announced various restrictions to curb the rush of pilgrims.