Between Hosting a World Cup and a Bilateral Tour, We’d Settle for Bilateral, Says Team India Head Coach Ravi Shastri
He also argued that bilateral series should be the way to go when cricket finally resumes because having one team touching down in a country is much better than having 10+ teams, in an era where social distancing is the way to go.
New Delhi, May 15: India head coach Ravi Shastri believes the focus of world cricket should be on playing bilateral series once the sport returns to the field. All cricket has been suspended since March as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus pandemic. Apart from all bilateral series, domestic competition like India Premier League has also been hit because of the crisis. Moreover, dark clouds have been circling over the fate of T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia later this year.
Shastri believes that instead of giving too much emphasis on World events, cricket boards across the world should focus on helping the game back on its feet with the help of domestic competitions. Yuvraj Singh Takes Dig at Ravi Shastri for Ignoring Him and MS Dhoni in Congratulatory Tweet for 2011 World Cup Win (See Post).
"I wouldn't put too much emphasis on world events right now. Stay at home, ensure domestic cricket comes back to normal, cricketers at all levels -- international, First Class, etc -- all get back on the field," Shastri told the Times of India.
"That's the most important bit. Second: Start with bilateral cricket. If we (India) had to choose between hosting a World Cup and a bilateral tour, obviously, we'd settle for the bilateral."
He also argued that bilateral series should be the way to go when cricket finally resumes because having one team touching down in a country is much better than having 10+ teams, in an era where social distancing is the way to go.
"Instead of 15 teams flying in, we'd settle for one team flying in and playing an entire bilateral series at one or two grounds," Shastri said. "It's a great opportunity for every country to focus on its domestic cricket and that should be given paramount importance."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2020 05:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).