Virat Kohli on Tuesday made a humble appeal to the fellow Indian citizens to follow the fresh guidelines issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the coronavirus from spreading. Addressing the nation, PM Modi announced that the country will be under complete lockdown for next 21 days starting Tuesday midnight. Welcoming the move, Indian skipper Virat Kohli requested the fellow countrymen to "stay at home" for next 21 days as "social distancing is the only cure" available with us which can stop Covid-19 from spreading.
"As our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri @NarendraModi ji just announced, the whole country is going into a lockdown starting midnight today for the next 21 days. My request will remain the same, PLEASE STAY AT HOME. #SocialDistancing is the only cure for Covid 19", Kohli tweeted.
Indian men's cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri also welcomed the move, calling it the "absolute need of the hour".
"No mincing words. Absolute need of the hour. Leadership at its very best. The country will come out stronger than ever before all-round @PMOIndia @narendramodi," Shastri tweeted, sharing a link of PM Modi's address to the nation.
Apart from Indian players, former England player Kevin Pietersen posted a heartfelt message in Hindi for his fans from India, urging them to follow the government's directives and stay indoors.
Several other former and current Indian players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammad Kaif, also urged people to stay inside their homes to avoid any chance of getting infected with the deadly virus which has claimed over 16,000 lives globally.