Former England captain Kevin Pietersen feels that cricket and all other sports should be played behind closed doors until a vaccine is available for the coronavirus pandemic. It has been over two months since major sporting events across the world were suspended or called-off prematurely due to the advent of the COVID-19 and as some plan dates to resume, Pietersen has called for every sport, including cricket, to be played behind closed doors. The Bundesliga is set to resume their 2019-20 season from May 20 while La Liga has planned a June 1 start. Among the other sports, British golfer Rory McIlroy is set to play few charity matches while motor-racing sport could also restart by next month. David Warner, Kevin Pietersen and Aakash Chopra Find ‘Magic Bat’ in This Funny Video.
“Sport is so uplifting and so positive for so many people. New sport will have to be played behind closed doors until we find a vaccination for coronavirus. Sportsmen have got to deal with it,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Fans, the public, need a morale boost. Their morale at the moment is so negative, so down in the dumps.” Kevin Pietersen Responds After Michael Vaughan Reveals Names of England Players Who Were ‘Jealous’ of KP (View Tweet).
Pietersen also pointed out that very few players will want to miss out on playing at their peak and would be eager to start at the earliest. “Some sportsmen are in the prime of their life. Why would they not want to be playing?” he added. “So what if the crowds are not there? The crowds may not be there in person but the broadcasting numbers will be massive.”
The South African-born batsman, who represented England in close to 300 international matches also saw this as an opportunity for the sports management groups to look at the solutions to problems shared by most cricketing bodies from across the world.
“The nice thing, if you can have a look at something that’s nice about this coronavirus, is it’s affecting absolutely everybody,” Pietersen added. “Virat Kohli is in the same position as Kane Williamson as Joe Root to Steve Smith as Quinton de Kock … we’re all in this together. So we’ve all got to come together, understand what’s important to us, work together, get through this together and make good decisions together.”
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2020 08:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).