Yuzvendra Chahal shares photo with a face mask en route to Dharamshala ahead of South Africa series

The Indian team will be playing South Africa in a series of three ODI matches starting March 12. This will be the last international assignment for the Men in Blue before the Indian Premier League 2020 begins from March 29. The first match is slated to be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.

The series only got the green signal after the South African team medics gave the go-ahead sign amidst the coronavirus threat looming over the sporting events in the world. In India itself, more than 40 people (44) have been positively diagnosed with the deadly COVID-19 virus and have been quarantined. Most of the patients had travelled to Italy and other severely affected areas like Singapore, Malaysia, and similar locations, before coming back to India.

Even coach Mark Boucher has ruled out the customary handshakes during the tour citing the precautions for the virus on tour to India. “With regards to handshakes and type of stuff that’s a concern, so it will probably be fine if we do the same if it comes to that. I think it’s a way to stop anything from happening to our guys. I think it’s out of respect for players around you and not to pass on something that you might have,” Boucher was quoted by India Today.

Yuzvendra Chahal wears a face mask to stay safe  

Not only the visitors, but the Indian team players are also wary of the dangers of coronavirus and have started wearing face masks as precautionary measures. One such player was Yuzvendra Chahal, who shared a photo of him wearing a face mask on the plane to Dharamshala. He shared the image on his Twitter account.

😷 😷 ✈️✈️ pic.twitter.com/BnCyJCuf4V

— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) March 10, 2020

Many of the sporting events have been hit badly due to the deadly virus. A Champions League football match, along with many other events will be played behind closed doors. Even as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics approach, several Olympic test events, and qualifiers have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus scare.

Even the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) director Sanjay Sharma admitted that the dangers of coronavirus will have an impact on the upcoming first one-dayer as well.

“In India, things are in control but there is a bit of scare because of the impact that coronavirus has had globally. There will be a bit of impact on the match due to coronavirus and also because the match is not on the weekend,” Sharma told India Today.