COVID-19: Former cricketers hit out at ICC’s back-to-cricket guidelines

Find moves like hand-sanitising after contact with ball, no shower-breaks ‘impractical’

Dubai: Regular hand-sanitising when in contact with the ball.

No loo or shower breaks while training.

Minimising time spent in the changing room before and after a game.

No handing over of personal items (cap, sunglasses, towels) to fellow teammates or the on-field umpires.

Finally, no use of saliva on ball.

These are some of the guidelines recommended by International Cricket Council (ICC) in their ‘back to cricket’ guidelines issued last week - alongwith the 14-day isolation camps - which has been questioned by some former players who found it ‘impractical’ and ‘premature.’

Irfan Pathan, former Indian allrounder who retired earlier this year, told PTI: “Social distancing is very doable in individual sport but very tough in a team sport like cricket and football. If you need a slip during the game, would you not employ it?

“If the team is going through a 14-day quarantine and is being tested for COVID-19, I am fine with that process. Now, after that, if we have more guidelines for the players during the game, then you are making things complicated. Then there is no point of a quarantine period,” he said.

Aakash Chopra

“Safety is paramount but we should not make the game complicated. If a bowler or fielder has to sanitise hands every time he touches the ball, then it would be very difficult.

“You can shorten the process of giving the ball to the bowler. Instead of the usual chain (wicket-keeper to cover fielder to bowler), the keeper can straight away give the ball to the bowler but even then the bowler will have to sanitise hands six times in an over,” said Pathan.

Aakash Chopra, former Indian opener and now a TV pundit, found the entire exercise ‘‘pre-mature.’’

“That (regular hand sanitisation after contact with ball) is obviously impractical but my big question is when the game happens in a bio secure environment and everyone is quarantined and tested, do these additional measures make a difference?

Monty Panesar

“On the field, I can still understand but what happens when you go back into the dressing room? How do you practice social distancing there? So it becomes quite complicated.

International cricket is likely to resume in July with England hosting West Indies and then Pakistan.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar foresees the start of the England-West Indies series making things a lot clearer for the entire fraternity than they are at the moment. “The 14-day quarantine is very much needed and well done to the ICC for including that. I think we will see resumption of international cricket with England hosting West Indies in July. We might have some practical ideas then, the other countries would also be watching keenly and will learn how to go about it.

“But measures like regular hand sanitising is not going to be practical. May be you could sanitise every one hour but it can’t be regular during the game,” said Panesar.

While Pathan feels the on-field safety measures will make managing over-rate a bigger challenge for teams, Chopra said no loo or shower breaks during training won’t be that much of an issue.

“Training is still controllable. You don’t have to be there for a long time but you would still have to use the restroom at some stage. You may avoid taking a shower but you will have to use the restroom,’’ he added.