Sri Lanka batting great Kumar Sangakkara said cricket is a social game and added it would be interesting to see how players cope with the new ICC guidelines when the sport resumes after the COVID-19 hiatus.
Kumar Sangakkara
Mumbai: ICC recently came out with guidelines for the safe resumption of cricket, which has been shut down since March due to the outbreak of the contagious disease. Keeping “social d i s t a n c i n g ” norms on and off the field and “safe” ball management are among the dos and don’ts listed by ICC.
The ICC Cricket Committee also recommended a ban on the usage of saliva to shine the ball. “For fast bowlers and spinners, shining the ball is an instinctive thing. They have done it over so many years, since they were kids,” Sangakkara, who is the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“Cricket is a social game. You spend most of the time in the dressing room talking. This will be a very clinical thing. You come ready to play, no warm-ups, you do everything right and you go home. So, it will be interesting to see how the players deal with it,” added the 2014 T20 World Cup winner.
The ICC Cricket Committee also recommended a ban on the usage of saliva to shine the ball. “For fast bowlers and spinners, shining the ball is an instinctive thing. They have done it over so many years, since they were kids,” Sangakkara, who is the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“Cricket is a social game. You spend most of the time in the dressing room talking. This will be a very clinical thing. You come ready to play, no warm-ups, you do everything right and you go home. So, it will be interesting to see how the players deal with it,” added the 2014 T20 World Cup winner.