Salaam Cricket 2020: Sunil Gavaskar said fans will miss a lot of scenes they are used to watching on a cricket field but the new changes were imporant in times of Covid-19.
Sunil Gavaskar. (Twitter Photo)
Sunil Gavaskar said it will be difficut for cricketers to play the game in the time of a global pandemic but the former India captain said it would be interesting to see how all the stakeholders cope with the new changes.
Recently, the International Cricket Council banned the use of saliva to shine the ball which could be a major setback for pacers who like to retain the shine on the ball. Among other things, there will be Covid substitutes introduced in the game which means if a player tests positive for coronavirus, he will be isolated immediately.
Besides, the Test series between England and West Indies will be played without cricket and the Indian Premier League, if it is played, will also be played without crowds.
Sunil Gavaskar said it will be interesting to see how cricket is played in the times to come now.
It will be difficult. We do not know the effects of coronavirus. It will be interesting to see and we need to see whether we can play cricket in the days to come,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Salaam Cricket 2020.
Gavaskar said fans will have to get used to cricket without the team huddles and players will have to adapt to playing in front of empty stands but added the steps were important as cricket needed to be played in sanitised conditions.
“Team huddles, celebrating wickets… maybe we won’t get to see that for a few months. That was also part of the game. That was part of the joy but we won’t see that for a while. Even the glove-glove between batsmen will be missing but we have to get used to these changes because cricket will be sanitised for a while,” Gavaskar said.
Sunil Gavaskar said players will be scared of even touching the ball on the ground which passes between all 11 fielders but said it was important for everyone to trust each other.
Players will be scared of touching the ball but everyone will be tested before the match and if anyone tests positive, he will be kept out. If bowlers and fielders play with masks on, I can’t see that. Even with batsmen with helmets, it is difficult to figure out which player it is. That’s why the jersey numbers is a good idea,” he said.
