According to the latest reports, the coach of the Indian Cricket team, Ravi Shastri, has said that there should be an emphasis on bilateral series and the IPL in the post Coronavirus scenario. This will not only help in the revival of the game in India but also on a global basis.
In the wake of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the overall condition of the global sports scenario has faced a huge setback and cricket is not far from this ill effect. Several ploys are being planned to be implemented shortly to bring back the lost glory of the Gentleman's game and experts all around the world are having their say on this matter.
In his recommendation, the former all-rounder said, "I wouldn't put too much emphasis on world events right now. Stay at home, ensure domestic cricket comes back to normal, cricketers at all levels - international, First Class, etc - all get back on the field."
"That's the most important bit. Second: Start with bilateral cricket. If we (India) had to choose between hosting a World Cup and a bilateral tour, obviously, we'd settle for the bilateral. Instead of 15 teams flying in, we'd settle for one team flying in and playing an entire bilateral series at one or two grounds,"
He added, "In that sense, what India's lost out on is domestic cricket - the Indian Premier League (IPL) for instance. When cricket resumes, we could give the IPL a priority. The difference between an international tournament and the IPL is that the IPL can be played between one or two cities and the logistics will be easier to manage. The same thing with bilaterals - it'll be easier for us to tour one country and play there at specific grounds than 15-16 teams flying in during these times. The International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to look at this objectively,"
Stressing on the importance of domestic cricket for every cricket playing nation in the world, Shastri said, "It's a great opportunity for every country to focus on its domestic cricket and that should be given paramount importance."
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