New Delhi, The BCCI on Saturday decided to contribute Rs 51 crore to the Prime Ministers Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund as the government fights against the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that it was Secretary Jay Shah who got everyone together and had a word with the other office bearers as well as the state associations to decide on the way forward to help the country in the fight against the pandemic.

"BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, honourary Secretary Jay Shah and Office Bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with the affiliated state associations on Saturday announced a donation of Rs 51 crore 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.

"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 BCCI said in the release.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the country to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. He said this is an essential step to fight coronavirus decisively. He added that saving lives is priority as of now.

"With folded hands, I request you to stay put wherever you are," said Prime Minister Modi. He added that he is mindful of the economic ramifications of it. However, this is a smaller concern.

PM Modi warned, that if the citizens don't follow a complete lockdown for the coming 21 days, the nation will go back 21 years and many families will be devastated.