Show sense of unity, urges Kohli as India battles pandemic

India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday said dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been "difficult and intense" and urged people to show a "sense of unity" in country's battle against the unprecedented health crisis.

The pandemic has so far claimed 69 lives and infected over 2400 people in India.

"We are trying to get through. It has been difficult, intense," Kohli said on the ongoing lockdown during an Instagram live session with former England star Kevin Pietersen.

India is currently under a three-week lockdown, enforced to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"Our response has been quite good apart from a few people who haven't respected the guidelines laid out.

"If you are addressing a larger issue there needs to be a sense of unity. I think 80 percent here have taken it on board but those 20 percent can still be a huge issue.

"The spike is immense going into week three and four so I hope people just get some sense into them. There needs to be unity in dealing with this issue," the batting maestro appealed.

Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma have never spent as much time together as they are now. He finds it "bizarre" that it is due to the pandemic.

"We have never been at one place for so long. It's bizarre. It's not a good thing to single out something like this as an opportunity to spend together. But it is what it is.

"We are being cautious and staying positive. If not for this, I'd be hanging out with you at Chinnaswamy stadium," he said.

The novel coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province, has so far claimed nearly 50000 lives and infected more than 9.75 lakh people across the world.