Australia to play host to India-Pakistan T20 World Cup

New Delhi, Jan 26: The sports fraternity on Sunday extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to write: "Wishing all Indians a very happy Republic Day."
"Rejoice the Glory of India and it's Freedom Fighters on this Republic Day. Wish you a very happy #RepublicDayIndia . Jai Hind !" former batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

"Wish you all a very happy #RepublicDay2020 from here in New Zealand," Irfan Pathan tweeted.

Boxer Vijender Singh said India is blessed with different religions, societies, cultures and languages.

"INDIA is a nation where humanity has lived since ages.It is a country which is blessed with different religions,societies,cultures & languages all interplaying with each other in harmony. PROUD OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY #RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay2020," Singh wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Sania Mirza also extended their greetings on the occasion.

On this day, 70 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro is the chief guest at the parade this year.

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.