During this ongoing coronavirus crisis, cricket and several other sporting activities across the world have been temporarily suspended for an indefinite period. Last week, the global cricket body recommended a host of “back to cricket” guidelines, including 14-day pre-match isolation training camps to make sure that teams are free from the deadly outbreak.
Case in point, England Cricket Board (ECB) is looking forward to restarting cricket season after weeks of inactivity due to COVID-19 pandemic. ECB had recently announced that it would have in place bio-secure venues in a bid to host Pakistan and the West Indies later in the year.
Playing cricket in the bio-secure environment is unrealistic: Rahul Dravid
Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid is not convinced with the concept primarily put forward by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Dravid reckons that the ambition to resume cricket in a bio-secure environment is ‘unrealistic’.
“It is a bit unrealistic to have things at the level, the ECB is talking about. Obviously, the ECB is very keen to conduct these series because they have had no other cricket…,” Dravid said during a webinar conducted in support of YUVA, a non-profit organisation. Even if they are potentially able to create a bubble and manage it in that way, I think it will be impossible for everyone to do it with the kind of calendar that we have, with the travelling that you do on tours and the number of people involved,” he added.
Earlier, former cricketers like Aakash Chopra, Irfan Pathan and Monty Panesar expressed that some of the ICC guidelines on the resumption of cricket are unrealistic and will definitely need a review when the cricketing world is closer to action.