Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara has said that the new ICC guidelines that have been laid down for the play to resume in the time of the Covid-19 crisis might look “weird and off-putting” but the aim is to make the game as safe as possible.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has come out with comprehensive guidelines to get the sport up and running around the world while at the same time maintaining the highest safety protocols.
“It’s got to be a partnership because when you are under contract, your employer is responsible for creating a safe environment and educating the players and insisting that the environment that they come to work in is very safe. Players also have the responsibility in turn to understand what the government guidelines are. It’s not just about you and I, it’s also about how we spread it to other people loved ones, the elderly in society so you got to really be mindful of that,” Sangakkara said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“I understand the guidelines are going to restrict players, playing of the game, it’s going to look really weird, and off-putting even for me when I think about it. But the priority is health and safety.”
ICC’s new measures include the appointment of chief medical officers, a 14-day pre-match isolation training camp, and use of gloves by umpires while handling the ball.
The ICC also suggested format-specific training periods for bowlers all over the world, allowing them a minimum of five-six weeks of training, with the last three weeks involving bowling at match intensity in order to facilitate their return to T20Is.
The Sri Lankan batting great added that it is necessary to have rules in place so as to ensure players of a safe playing environment.
“If that environment of safety and health is not there, then the doubts keep coming back, ‘Should we start, should be go back to playing?’ So, we have to be really careful there, and understand that all these new rules are to try and make it as safe as possible even though it seems very, very detailed and extensive,” Sangakkara said.
“Health is absolutely paramount at this time, especially for players to have the confidence to get back to cricket, to get back to playing, to have grounds may be at some point open to spectators. If that environment of safety and health is not there, then the doubts keep coming back, ‘Should we start, should be go back to playing?’ So, we have to be really careful there, and understand that all these new rules are to try and make it as safe as possible even though it seems very, very detailed and extensive.”
