India batsman K.L. Rahul extended his support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to Indians to light candles, torches or phone flashes at 9pm for 9 mins on Sunday to show appreciation to those fighting against the coronavirus outbreak that has brought the world to a standstill.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul wrote: "5th April 9pm for 9min..Stand up ! Light up ! Show us your roar, ignite the spirit of a billion hearts and throw this virus off our pitch without a hitch ! The spotlight is on you, together, we can win! @narendramodi @BCCI."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to 49 sports personalities that included the likes of BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, badminton world champion P.V. Sindhu and chess legend Viswanathan Anand as he urged them to keep spreading awareness as the world fights the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has put the whole world on pause and sporting events across the globe have either been cancelled or suspended and even the fate of the 13th edition of the IPL hangs in balance with the BCCI now also open to shifting the tournament to the October-November window if the ICC does plan to postpone the World T20.