Far from madding crowd, Dhoni trains alone at NCA

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

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The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

London, Mar 19: Talking about the break in cricketing activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said that the disease seems to be to the only topic of conversation these days.

"I don't know how to describe it. Doesn't matter where you go, everyone is talking about it - whether it is on an airplane or you are just popping into a grocery store. It just seems like it is the only topic of conversation," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Steyn as saying.

"Yeah, it's so strange. Normally if I am on holiday I'll be planning a fishing trip or a surfing trip. At the moment I am just chilling at home," he added.

Steyn was last seen in action in the Pakistan Super League where he took two wickets in two matches.

When asked whether he has enough hand sanitizers, he replied: "We just decided that stockpiling is definitely not the way to go. It is not fair on everybody who needs that stuff. I went to the grocery store the other day and everyone had bought all the toilet paper. We have what we need, and when that runs out, that runs out, and we need to go and get some more".

"We didn't feel it was necessary to go and absolutely just, like, zombie our lives up. There's other people that live on a day-to-day basis. They are not going to get all of that stuff, so we thought it was best not to do that".

Steyn also had a message for the fans, "Stay healthy, wash your hands, look after yourself, don't be greedy. Right now they are saying old people are really struggling, so if in a position to help, rather help them than help yourself. Pretty simple, really."

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the ODI series between India-South Africa and Australia-New Zealand have been postponed.

The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been postponed until April 15.

Cricket South Africa has suspended all forms of cricket for 60 days while Cricket Australia has advised all its employees to work from home.

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.