With the coronavirus pandemic forcing the government to enforce a nationwide lockdown, many people have found it difficult to visit religious places to offer prayers. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, on Friday, took to social media to urge people to stay at home and offer their prayers at home. Fridays are generally seen as a ‘small-eid’ in the Muslim community and many consider this day as a mandatory to visit mosques and offer prayers. But due to the lockdown, they have been compelled to stay inside homes and Pathan through his video urged everyone to not take the risks of visiting mosques but turn their homes into mosques and offer prayers. Irfan Pathan's Locality in Vadodara Declared as Red Zone for Coronavirus, Twitterati Prays For Everyone's Safety and Wellness.

The 35-year-old through a video preached self-isolation and also the importance of staying indoors. "Ye naa socho ki Masjeedo mein jaane sei mana kiya gaya hain, balki ye socho ki har ghar ko masjeed mein taqdeel karne ko kaha gaya hain. Humari tarah humare ghar bhi ghunegar ho chukka hain, aao gharo ko saaf karte hain. Kuch der ghar mein h namaz padhte hain (Do not think that we have barred from visiting mosques but think that we have been asked to turn every house into a place of worship. Our homes, like us, have turned sinful, let us clean our homes first and for somedays offer prayers at home)", the former Indian cricketer said in his video message. Irfan Pathan Hits Back at Trolls After Facing Backlash for His Tweet Against People Bursting Firecrackers During 9 Baje 9 Minutes Event.

Stay at Home and Offer Prayer at Home

The former Indian cricketer had earlier said on social media that the thing he misses most amid the lockdown and self-isolation is visiting the mosques for Friday prayers but had asked everyone to stay indoors and save themselves as well as the others.

Patah Urges Everyone to Stay Home

Pathan, who announced his retirement from for all forms of cricket last year, represented India in 173 internationals and took 301 wickets while also scoring over 2500 internationals runs. He was part of India’s 2007 T20I World Cup triumph and won Man of the Match for his performance in the final against Pakistan. In 29 Test matches for India, Pathan also claimed 100 wickets, which included a hat-trick against Pakistan.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2020 01:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).