The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday announced a donation of Rs 51 crores to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund to aid in the fight against coronavirus pandemic.

The amount is intended to contribute towards strengthening the nation’s disaster management capacities and encourage research, the cash-rich governing body said in a statement.

“The board along with its state associations will continue to monitor and work closely with the Government of India, state governments and other state regulatory bodies and are committed to providing support to the state machinery in the face of adversity,” according to a press release.

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The sporting community in India has joined in raising funds to battle the outbreak that has seen the country enter a national lockdown.

Earlier in the week, Sachin Tendulkar has also donated Rs 50 lakh towards the battle against coronavirus. Sourav Ganguly has promised to supply rice worth Rs 50 lakh for the underprivileged.

PV Sindhu has contributed Rs 5 lakh each to CM’s relief funds of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, wrestler Bajrang Punia donated his six month’s salary, while Hima Das donated one month’s salary to the cause.

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Elsewhere, Indian athletes are manning the streets as police officers, persuading people to stay home amid a national lockdown.

World Cup-winning cricketer Joginder Sharma, Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning boxer Akhil Kumar and Asian Games champion kabaddi player Ajay Thakur , as all full-time police officers, are performing their duties to help with the lockdown.

The total number of confirmed cases in India has breached the 900 mark, according to the health ministry’s update on Saturday evening. There have been at least 918 positive tests in the country so far. Of these, 819 are active, 79 have recovered, and 19 people have died. Globally, the total number of cases, according to an estimate by Johns Hopkins University, has crossed 600,000.