Dravid cautions against rushing players back into cricket, says better to wait and watch

Tags: Rahul Sharad Dravid, IPL, India

Published on: Jun 22, 2020

Indian cricket has come to a standstill in the wake of Coronavirus as all cricketing activity has been suspended since March. While the ODI series against South Africa had to be postponed, the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been put on hold indefinitely.

Under the current scenario, holding any cricket tournament in India over the next few months seems a rather difficult proposition even though there are reports emerging that the IPL could be held later in the year in September.

National Cricket Academy (NCA) Director Rahul Dravid too has opined that the time is not right to resume cricketing activities in India even with all the bio-secure arrangements in place.

Speaking to The Week, the former India captain stated that it is better to wait and watch than rush back into cricket. “We have been making plans for all scenarios, but all of it looks very uncertain right now. The monsoon will set in over the next two months, and cricket will be possible only in few parts of the country. We will have to consider all this. I was hoping we would resume training at NCA in May, but that did not happen. We cannot rush young boys and girls even with bio-secure bubbles,” he explained.

Dravid added that the situation should be judged month by month, and a call on resumption should be taken accordingly. “I don’t think we are in a position to resume. It is better to be patient and wait. We have to take it month by month. One has to look at all options. If the domestic season, which usually starts by August/September, starts in October, one has to see whether the season should be shortened," Dravid, renowned as one of the greatest to have graced the game, added.

According to reports, if the BCCI is forced to cancel the IPL, it will suffer losses to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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