Legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara late on Tuesday took to Twitter and Instagram to quash rumours doing rounds on social media and confirmed that he has tested negative for Covid-19.
Confirming that he did undergo a Covid-19 test but the reports were negative, Lara urged people not to spread such ‘false’ information which may cause panic in an already distressed situation.
“Hi everyone, I have read all the circulating rumours regarding me testing positive for the coronavirus and it is important I clarify the facts. Not only is this information false, but it is also detrimental to spread such panic in a community already feeling the distress of the COVID situation,” Lara said in an Instagram post.
Lara said the misinformation did not cause any harm to him but such ‘careless’ and ‘unnecessary’ information did create ‘worry’ among people in his circle.
This virus isn’t something we should be using in a negative manner to create sensationalism. I hope and pray that all of us remain safe because as is noticeable Covid 19 is going nowhere in the near future,” he added.
Over the last 24 hours, there have many people on social media who put posts, saying that Lara had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Lara had announced his retirement from international cricket in 2007. He finished his career with 22,358 runs and 53 international centuries.
The 51-year-old Lara has recorded the highest individual score in Test cricket as he played a knock of 400 runs against England in 2004.