Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday has announced that it will donate Rs 51 crores to the PM CARES Fund to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and "protect Indian citizens".
In a press release on its official website, BCCI stated, "Mr Sourav Ganguly, President, Mr Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary and Office Bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with the affiliated state associations on Saturday announced to donate Rs 51 crores to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to contribute towards strengthening the nation’s disaster management capacities and encourage research to combat COVID-19 and protect Indian citizens."
The release further stated that the outbreak "is first and foremost a public health emergency". Hence the Indian board wanted to ensure the "nation gets all possible help to cope with the testing times".
Meanwhile, BCCI said that it "will continue to monitor" the situation and "work closely with the Government of India, state governments and other state regulatory bodies".
It also stated that the Indian board is ready to offer support to "the state machinery in the face of adversity".
Earlier this month BCCI president Sourav Ganguly postponed the IPL till April 15 in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. IPL was scheduled to start on March 29 but due to worsening situation across the world forced BCCI had decided to postpone it.
