Indian opener Rohit Sharma on Wednesday spoke to India Today during the E-Conclave 2020 on a myriad of topics from the current coronavirus lockdown in the country, his daily routine these days and also the future of sport post-pandemic.
When Rohit was asked how it would feel to be playing in front of empty stadiums if IPL is allowed behind closed doors, the Mumbai batsman said that he would have to hark back to the time he was growing up and used to play without any spectators watching.
“I hope everybody is safe and following guidelines so that eventually we can step out and start doing what we love to do.
“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 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.
There have also been speculations regarding hosting the Indian Premier League in a single city or a couple of them in order to avoid movement and further risk to players during the pandemic. Rohit said that we all should wait for the guidelines from the government before arriving at a conclusion regarding the IPL.
“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.
“I am not really sure as to how long it’s going to take for it completely disappear. Whatever necessary steps have to be taken have to be taken. All rules need to be followed. Like at an ICC tournament, there will be rules for anti-doping and all that. Likewise, we have to stick to it.
“In my opinion, there will be guidelines henceforth whenever we play about how to control movements around the hotel, around the city. I don’t think we will be able to go out freely if at we are allowed to travel abroad. All those necessary steps will be taken,” added Rohit.
