Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday (March 28) announced a contribution of INR 51 crores to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

The PM-CARES Fund was announced earlier on Saturday by PM Narendra Modi.

“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 INR 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,” BCCI said in a release.

“The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-1) is first and foremost a public health emergency and the BCCI has a firm resolve that the nation gets all possible help to cope with the testing times.

The BCCI will contribute to Hon’ble Prime Minister’s initiative which is a dedicated national fund (PM-CARES Fund) with the primary objective of dealing with emergency or distress situations,”

“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.” the released concluded.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also tweeted after the announcement, he wrote, "@Bcci and it's affiliated State Association contribute 51 crores to PM- Cares fund to help #IndiaFightsCornona @narendramodi"

Over 600,000 people worldwide have been infected by the virus, with more than 28,000 deaths. India has recorded over 900 cases with 19 deaths. There is no vaccine available as yet, hence many countries have locked down completely for a period of time to prevent the spread of the virus, including India until April 14.