Long way from getting back to playing cricket, feels Stuart Broad

The coronavirus outbreak has led to all sports being put on hold indefinitely and seasoned England pacer Stuart Broad stated that he believes cricket won’t be resuming any time soon given the current scenario. Earlier, the England and Wales Cricket Board postponed all cricket till July 1. Currently, the stakeholders of the sports have considered hosting matches behind closed doors to stop the spread of the virus.

Broad admitted that it’s strange for the players to stay away from the sport for so long but as the governments and boards will be figuring out the contingencies. However, the 33-year-old cricketer is also aware of the risks despite cricket being held in empty stadiums. 

“It’s strange for players. It does still feel a long way away from getting back to playing cricket. One thing is for sure the sport won’t take any risks. We will only be back playing live cricket when it has been deemed safe to do so by the government. I think that would be behind closed doors and players and management staff would be in a close environment,” Broad told the BBC.

“There have been talks about playing in grounds with hotels built in them so you don’t have to leave and move too far. Obviously we will be shining the ball and there will be contact quite naturally. But we just have to make sure we are doing everything we can right now as players and don’t delay playing due to fitness reasons once we are told to play,” he added.