Indian international and Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Sandeep Sharma hit out at people for taking Coronavirus lightly. Sharma, who represented Punjab in the just concluded 2019-20 Ranji Trophy in Indian domestic circuit, took to his Twitter account to a dig at “people in this country” for taking COVID-19 “jokingly.” Sharma, who was purchased from Kings XI Punjab in 2018, was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of IPL 2020 Players Auction. He took 12 wickets in 11 games in IPL 2019 but went at a high economy of 8.25 as the Kane Williamson-led Sunrisers crashed out of the tournament in the eliminator against Delhi Capitals. Kane Richardson Recalls His Coronavirus Scare, Says ‘I Thought It Was All a Joke at That Time’.

“People in this country take viruses jokingly and religion seriously,” Sharma posted from his official Twitter handle on Tuesday. He was perhaps taking a dig at people’s reluctance in going into quarantine and avoiding social gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak. He was also probably hinting at the recent riots at Delhi which took place due to the religious differences and communal hatred among the people. The medium-pacer was also praised online by netizens for his thoughts. Yuzvendra Chahal Hilariously Trolls Quinton de Kock, Ben Stokes and Ellyse Perry for Copying His Famous Pose (View Instagram Story).

Sandeep Sharma Tweets on Coronavirus

Earlier, reports had claimed that some coronavirus affected patients had escaped hospitals to avoid being kept in isolation wards, while many were said to have given wrong address during the tests for COVID-19 at airports and various other public departments. It was also reported that some people had left their homes despite being asked to stay in quarantine after being tested positive for the virus.

Sharma isn’t, however, the first cricketer to call out the people for not staying in quarantine and not taking the virus seriously, earlier, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had taken a dig at the people of Chennai for public gatherings and not staying at homes despite the government passing asking people to not move out of the house unless emergency. “social distancing doesn’t seem to have caught the attention of the people in Chennai yet. The only reason could be their belief in the summer to curtail it or just faith that nothing will happen,” Ashwin had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 18, 2020 11:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).