Road Safety World Series cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak

Road Safety World Series

Mumbai: The Road Safety World Series, featuring cricket greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, have been cancelled for the time being in view of the rising coronavirus threat in Maharashtra.

The organisers said the series have been called off for the safety of the players and the public.

"In the interest of public safety and security, and following the advisory issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the organising body has unanimously agreed to reschedule the remaining matches of the series to a later date," a media release said.

"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," the statement added.

The organisers said they felt it apt not to go ahead with the planned matches as of now to prevent any further scope of large gatherings.

Indian Legends team skipper Tendulkar said that it was the right step under the circumstance to reschedule the tournament.

"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. I look forward to continuing to support this critical cause through the medium of sports," he said.

The organisers had earlier cancelled the matches which were to be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune and relocated them to the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

It was also earlier decided that the matches would he held in empty stadiums, but now they have been cancelled for the time being.

Maharashtra reported 10 cases of coronavirus on Wednesday.

Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, several sporting events in India and across the globe have been cancelled or postponed.

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