Following new ICC guidelines will be a challenge: Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara

Press Trust of India: Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara says it will be interesting to see how players cope with the new ICC guidelines when cricket resumes after the COVID-19 hiatus.

With Government restrictions easing, the ICC has come out with guidelines for safe resumption. Keeping social distancing norms on and off the field and ‘safe’ ball management are among the dos and don’ts listed. The Cricket Committee also recommended a ban on use of saliva to shine the ball.

“For fast bowlers or spinners, shining the ball, is an instinctive thing, they have done it over so many years since they were kids,” Sangakkara, the President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

“Cricket is a social game, most of the time you spend in the dressing room – you talk, you chat. 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 that,” he said.

Cricketers from several top teams, including England, Australia, West Indies and Sri Lanka have already begun outdoor training under strict safety protocols as the sport is taking early steps towards resumption.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced its schedule for a proposed three-Test series at home against the West Indies starting 8 July, which is likely to be the first series to happen after the coronavirus break.