With no live action, here's how sports stars connected with fans during lockdown

New Delhi [India], April 29 (ANI): With almost the entire world coming to a standstill due to COVID-19, sports fans were worried over how they will survive without no live-action but sporting stars have found a way out - thanks to social media.
It has only been during World Wars that no sport has been played across the globe, so coping with no sport was a challenge for both the fans and active players.
Over the years, sports has become a sure-shot way of uniting people and cheering for one common goal - to see their country come out on top.
With strict lockdowns being announced, fans across the world became worried, but sports stars across the world are taking social media's help to connect with fans.
With online platforms being a major part of everyone's lives, stars like Virat Kohli, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Kevin Pietersen used Instagram Live sessions to give fans some never heard anecdotes.
This trend was first started by former England skipper Kevin Pietersen as he used Instagram to talk to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the initial days of the lockdown.
Pietersen even went on to do a live Instagram session with Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor and it was then that the cricketing brain of Tharoor was there for everyone to see. The duo talked out everything ranging from cricket to wildlife.
During the chats, Kohli opened up about the initial days of his career, as to how he was bulky and what he did to overcome all obstacles. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma talked about the lowest point in his career.
Kohli later went on to talk to AB de Villiers and the duo revealed that they will be auctioning their kit from the 2016 IPL match against Gujarat Lions to feed people who are in dire need of help as a fallout of coronavirus pandemic.
As celebrities keep on getting flak for being tone-deaf and posting insensitive stuff on social media, sports stars have come on the right side as every live session attempted to make people aware about the importance of staying at home in the battle against coronavirus.
Talking about tennis, the Big Three (Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal) have battled it out on the court, but during this lockdown, the three have shown great camaraderie on social media.
The trio has been in sync for creating a fund to financially help the players who are struggling for funds.
Federer and Nadal also had an Instagram Live session which gave the fans of both the stars a rare chance to see the two connect with each other and talk about their love for tennis.
Former Australian batsman Shane Watson has also come up with a podcast titled 'Learning Lessons with the Greats'.
As part of this podcast, Watson has been talking to former greats of the game to know about their head process when they stepped on to the park.
In the first two episodes, Watson chatted with Vivian Richards and Yuvraj Singh. The latter revealed about his battle against cancer and how he regrets not playing much Test cricket for his country.
The latest edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was slated to begin from March 29, but the coronavirus has disrupted all plans, but all eight franchises have consciously decided to remain in sync with the fans.
All the eight teams have been constantly engaging with fans on Instagram and Twitter. They have been giving them footage of old matches or are chatting with cricketers to let the fans know some anecdotes.
Football stars have not been behind as they have also been doing question and answer sessions on social media platforms to let the sports lovers have some joy.
How long will this coronavirus disrupt the live-action, no one has an answer to this, but with sports fraternity ensuring some respite for the fans through social media, we are assured of not passing this time alone. (ANI)