Former India skipper Kapil Dev was pulled up by former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi after he turned down Shoaib Akhtar's proposal for a India-Pakistan series to raise funds to fight the Coronavirus outbreak. But Kapil has made it clear that he is standing his ground.

"You could be emotional and say that yes, India and Pakistan should play matches. Playing matches is not a priority at the moment. If you need the money then you should stop the activities at the border. The money which will be spent can be used to build hospitals and schools. If we really need money than we have so many religious organisations, they should come forward. It is their responsibility. We offer so much money when we visit the religious shrines, so they should help the government," Kapil told Sports Tak.

In fact, he wants everyone to look at the larger picture and not even think about cricket at present. "I am looking at the larger picture. Do you think cricket is the only issue we can talk about? I am rather worried about the children who are not being able to go to schools and colleges because that is our young generation. So, I want schools to reopen first. Cricket, football will happen eventually," he added.

Afridi had earlier said: "Kapil's reaction has surprised me. I expected better from him and feel one should not talk like this in these crisis times. Sport is supposed to bring people together and build bridges. It is pretty disappointing," he said.

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Former West Indies cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan has broken his silence after his former teammate Chris Gayle took to social media to hit out at him. Gayle had earlier accused Sarwan for engineering his ouster from Caribbean Premier League side Jamaica Tallawahs. "I categorically deny any involvement in the decision, or the decision-making process, which led to Gayle's non-selection to represent the Jamaica Tallawahs in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Tournament," Sarwan was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo on his Facebook page. "In that video, he has levelled false allegations and tarnished the good name and reputation of a series of persons.

"I was the focus of most of the onslaughts. I reply, not because I feel that Gayle's rantings are worthy of it, but because I feel that the public's record must be set straight and also, to protect the character and careers of so many people, whose image he sought to besmirch," he added. Gayle had earlier referred to Sarwan as a 'snake' and he even went on to the extent of saying that he was 'worse than coronavirus'.

"Let me make this abundantly clear that I played with Gayle since the inception of my career. I have always respect him as an extraordinary talent, a colleague and most importantly as a close friend. Hence, my utter shock at these allegations," said Sarwan. Tallawahs have also said that Sarwan had nothing to do with Gayle not being retained by the franchise.

"Gayle gave several reasons for the decision that was made not to retain him in the Tallawahs. However, the truth is that this decision was made collectively by the Ownership and Management team which did not include Ramnaresh Sarwan and based purely on business and cricketing reasoning," Tallawahs said in a statement on their official website.

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The European Union on Wednesday moved to head off a chaotic and potentially disastrous easing of restrictions that are limiting the spread of the Coronavirus, warning its 27 nations to move very cautiously as they return to normal life and base their actions on scientific advice.

With Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark already lifting some lockdown measures, the EU's executive arm, the European Commission (EC), rushed out its roadmap for members of the world's biggest trade bloc to coordinate an exit from the lockdowns, which they expect should take at least a few months and involve large-scale testing.

Denmark begins to gradually relax its lockdown measures, allowing preschool to fifth grade return to school on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

According to a tally compiled by AFP, more than one million cases of the Coronavirus have been detected in Europe, just over half the global total. With at least 1,003,284 cases, including 84,465 deaths, Europe is the worst hit continent.

The EC did not spell out exactly how EU countries should make the transition, but warned that lifting restrictions will "unavoidably lead to a corresponding increase in new cases," the commission said that this should only start when the spread of the disease has dropped significantly and for some time, and when hospitals can cope with more patients.

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In a viral video that left the internet in splits, a dog exposed the owner's fake handstand pose. The video that went viral on Facebook shows a woman pretending to do handstand by lying down and pressing her hands against the wall, while a man on a chair reading a newspaper is seen sitting besides her.

The nearly-perfect clip seemed convincing until the act was exposed when a dog made an appearance in the picture. At that point, the viewers realised that the man and the woman were simply lying on the floor and the handstand pose was created by tweaking the camera angle and successfully tricking people into believing that the pose was legitimate.

Paulinho Martins, who posted this video on Facebook on Tuesday, said in the captions, "Everything was going well, until the dog ruined everything." The video has received over 6.1 million views with more than 48,000 likes and was shared over 225,000 times.

Amid hilarious reactions, users commenting on the post said that they would love to try it out with their friends while one user commented, "Is that spiderdog?" Another user said, "It is not that bad to cheat, well done!" while one more comment read, "It is absolutely obvious, when he touched his glasses. Newspaper fell on him."

What do you think of the video?

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An exchange of texts between the YouTuber and a man whose car he hit has gone viral. YouTuber Casey Neistat had tweeted about leaving a note apologising to a man whose car he accidentally hit with his 17-year-old pick-up truck and what happened next was absolutely heart-warming.

Neistat, who stays in Los Angeles, wrote on Twitter, "I scratched a guys car this morning when parking my truck, total accident, small but noticeable scratch. I left the owner a note on the wiper and he texted me..."

The note Neistat left for the man read, "Hello, I scratched the hood of your car while parking mine. Please call/text so I can pay for the repairs. My sincere apologies for the trouble." The man texted him  on his contact number provided on the note and gave him a surprising reply. He asked Neistat to donate the money he had put aside for the repairs to the local food bank instead.

The reply read, "Hey, Thank you so much for the note. Please don’t worry about the scratch. Any money you have put towards my car feel free to donate to a local venice food bank. Have a great week!"

Neistat then donated 250 USD to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in the name of ‘Mr Scratched Car’. The heart-warming exchange between the YouTuber and the stranger garnered over 243,500 likes and was retweeted more than 20,900 times.

been complaining about LA a lot, lemme share why I love LA. I scratched a guys car this morning when parking my truck, total accident, small but noticeable scratch. I left the owner a note on the wiper and he texted me... pic.twitter.com/0x8HQkjGa2

— Casey Neistat (@Casey) April 20, 2020

The users commenting on the post narrated similar incidents and praised the interaction between them. Some also praised the man’s reply to the Neistat’s note.

10/10 human interaction, love this

— FaZe Banks (@Banks) April 20, 2020

What she didn't know what that I had already caused that damage weeks prior while trying to squeeze into a microscopic Seattle parking space (next to a concrete pillar).

I texted her back, told her that if she caused any damage, I couldn't tell, and not to worry about it. (2/2)

— AlexanderESmith (@AlexEdwardSmith) April 20, 2020

God bless Mr Scratched Car

— Boii🧢 (@MichaelYanchuck) April 20, 2020

donation made in the name of "mr scratched car"

casey you are a legend

— Luke Martin (@VentureCoinist) April 20, 2020

Still truly good people in this world.

— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) April 20, 2020

What do you think about the post?

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China's warning of trade repercussions from Australia's campaign for an independent inquiry into COVID-19 has rattled Australian business leaders as President Donald Trump's administration urges other governments to back such a probe. China has accused Australia of parroting the US in its call for an inquiry independent of the World Health Organisation to determine the origins of COVID-19 and how the world responded to the emerging pandemic.

Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye used an Australian newspaper interview this week to warn that pursuing an inquiry could spark a Chinese consumer boycott of students and tourists visiting Australia as well as of sales of major exports including beef and wine. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday stood firm on his call for an inquiry and denied any motivation other than to prevent such a pandemic from happening again.

"I don't think anybody's in any fantasy land about where it started. It started in China. What the world over needs to know is how did it start and what are the lessons that can be learnt," Morrison said. "That needs to be done independently and why do we want to know that? Because it could happen again."

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A top UK government scientist, who was behind the country's strategy to impose strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, has resigned after a media report revealed that he broke the rules and allowed a woman he was said to be in a relationship with to visit his home during the lockdown. Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist whose modelling convinced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to press ahead with a UK-wide lockdown, quit the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) after allegations emerged in The Daily Telegraph. He admitted that he had allowed a woman Antonia Staats to visit him at his London home after travelling across the UK capital from her home, which she shares with her husband and children, on at least two occasions.

The movement goes against the very strict stay at home and save lives advice of the government, put in place by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson prompted by the scientific team led by Ferguson. The incidents took place soon after the 51-year-old leading epidemiologist from Imperial College London had completed a two-week spell self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. "I accept I made an error of judgement and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in SAGE, said Ferguson after the report.

"I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms. I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing," he said. The scientist, however, stressed that the government's advice on social distancing remains "unequivocal", adding that it was there "to protect all of us". UK Security Minister James Brokenshire said the senior scientist "made the right decision" and that the government will "continue to be informed" by SAGE.

"We have a range of experts that will continue to support ministers," he said. The first of the visits by Staats, 38, was on March 30, which coincided with a public warning by Prof Ferguson that the UK's one-week-old lockdown measures would have to remain until June. Staats, a left-wing campaigner, made a second visit on April 8 despite telling friends she suspected that her husband, an academic in his 30s, had symptoms of coronavirus, the newspaper report claims. He has peculiarly breached his own guidelines, and for an intelligent man I find that very hard to believe. It risks undermining the government's lockdown message," said Conservative Party MP and former minister Ian Duncan Smith.

Ferguson's resignation comes a month after Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, had to resign when it was revealed she had broken lockdown rules by making two trips back and forth to a second home. Under the government's guidelines in the UK, people are expected to stay at home and allowed to move out only for one form of daily exercise and essential shopping.

The measures have been in place since March 23 to try and flatten the curve of the rising number of cases of COVID-19, the UK death toll from which reached 29,427 on Tuesday the highest number of virus deaths in Europe. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which includes deaths where the virus is suspected and not just where tests have been carried out, brings the total number even higher to 32,375.

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