IPL franchise Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is ready to play the game according to the guidelines set by the government or board to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The Indian Premier League (IPL), which was earlier scheduled to start from 29th March, has been postponed indefinitely because of the deadly virus.
With an increasing number of cases in India as well as in other countries, there seems no way to host the lucrative league. Board of Control for Cricket in India had to decide to postpone the league for the players as well as public safety.
If the situation gets normal, the board will have to set up some guidelines so that the case remains in control. Well, IPL can be played in empty stadiums which will be a different experience for the players.
Rohit Sharma expresses his view on playing behind the close door:
The Mumbaikar gave his thought in playing in front of empty stadiums. He said that life would go back to the old day when he was in the starting days of his career, and nobody was watching his game.
“It will be a little strange to play in the empty stadiums. I don’t know how the fans will take it. As a kid, I have to go back a long way and think about how I started playing cricket with nobody watching me. We didn’t have the luxury of playing in these luxurious stadiums, I think life will go back to that. Whatever rules the board comes up with, we need to follow that and try and play some sort of cricket. People will be able to watch us on television. At least, there is something to look forward to,” said Rohit on being asked about IPL behind closed doors during his chat with India Today’s E-Conclave 2020.
Further, he gave some suggestions like IPL being hosted in one or two cities to minimize the movement of players across the country during the pandemic.
He said, “Yeah, once they open up the stadium, they open the fixtures for us to play, only then we will get to know how it’s going to be planned out. From what I gather is, less movement and staying in one particular area is very important. Whichever city or whichever country tournaments are happening, they have to take all the necessary precautions and all the necessary steps to stay away from this virus.”
Last year, Rohit Sharma led his team to lift the fourth title of IPL. He was also nominated as the best captain in IPL’s history with MS Dhoni by the Star Sports jury.