International cricket in empty stadiums will be weird, reckons Rahul Dravid
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid says he feels that it will be weird for cricketers to play in empty stadiums. In an interview on Sony Ten Pit Stop, Rahul Dravid spoke about how cricketers are used to the extra energy that the crowds bring in with them.
"International cricket in empty stadiums will be weird. Players are professionals and they will deal with it by delivering top-class performances, but they will miss the interaction with the crowd. The buzz of the crowd and the energy that they create will be missing," said Rahul Dravid.
England-West Indies series is going to be a lesson for a lot of people: Rahul Dravid
With cricket set to return on July 8 with England hosting West Indies for a three-match Test series, ICC have laid down a new set of rules and regulations which includes use of COVID-19 substitutes and ban on the use of saliva on the ball and using sweat instead.
Rahul Dravid believes that the new playing conditions due to the pandemic will be something that the whole world will take notice of when the England-West Indies series will begin.
" I think the England-West Indies series is going to be learning (experience) for a lot of people. It will give us an idea of how things work. Apparently, sweat is better than saliva because you can't transfer the disease by using it," asserted Rahul Dravid
While greats like Wasim Akram believed that banning saliva on the ball would make bowlers look like robots, Rahul Dravid instead feels that if sweat does a good enough job of creating shine on the ball no foreign substance like wax might be required. As cricket gears up to make a return, it will be exciting to see how things pan out in the post-COVID-19 age.