Sports need to resume to uplift the morale of the world, feels Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen has stated that even though cricket is forced to be played behind the closed doors, it has to happen at some point in time to uplift the collective morale of the world. Pietersen has also added that players will definitely want to play given some of them are at their prime.
With almost the entirety of the world being under lockdown and there is little to no sporting activities on offer, the multi-trillion sporting industry is on the verge of collapsing. The Indian Premier League, which pays a lot of bills of many cricketers, stands postponed and there is no clarity when cricket can resume. Kevin Pietersen, a maverick cricketer turned prominent commentator, stated that cricket should start behind closed doors in order to uplift the morale of the nation.
"Fans, the public, need a morale boost. Their morale at the moment is so negative, so down in the dumps. Sport is so uplifting and so positive for so many people. New sports will have to be played behind closed doors until we find a vaccination for coronavirus. Sportsmen have got to deal with it," the 39-year-old said in an interview, reported Reuters.
"Some sportsmen are in the prime of their life. Why would they not want to be playing?. So what if the crowds are not there? The crowds may not be there in person but the broadcasting numbers will be massive" he added.
While there is an air of uncertainty hovering around, Pietersen feels there is a silver lining in the sense that everyone is in this together and Coronavirus has ensured nobody is spared from it. The collective situation has brought in a sense of unity from which the world should learn.
"The nice thing, if you can have a look at something that's nice about this coronavirus, is it's affecting absolutely everybody. Virat Kohli is in the same position as Kane Williamson as Joe Root to Steve Smith as Quinton de Kock ... we're all in this together,” Pietersen said.
"So we've all got to come together, understand what's important to us, work together, get through this together and make good decisions together."