"Fans, the public, need a morale boost", Pietersen bats for cricket behind closed doors 

Kevin Pietersen urged all sportpersons to be willing to play in empty stadiums.

Kevin Pietersen felt for the fans engulfed with tension due to the COVID-19 pandemic and batted for sports' resumption whenever safe to do so. The former England batsman said players should be willing to play behind closed doors if that provides the much-needed morale boost to the public.

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"Fans, the public, need a morale boost. Their morale at the moment is so negative, so down in the dumps," said Pietersen in an interview with Reuters. 

"Sport is so uplifting and so positive for so many people. New sport will have to be played behind closed doors until we find a vaccination for coronavirus. Sportsmen have got to deal with it."

In the wake of golfer Rory McIlroy preparing to play a charity event on 17 May and English football's Premier League planning a return for mid-June, Pietersen reckons that shall work as inspiration for all sportspersons. 

"Some sportsmen are in the prime of their life. Why would they not want to be playing?" he added. "So what if the crowds are not there? The crowds may not be there in person but the broadcasting numbers will be massive."

Finding a silver lining to all this, Pietersen thinks the crisis has brought the cricket fraternity together. 

"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," added the 39-year-old, who played 104 Tests, 136 ODIs and 37 T20Is for England. 

"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."

(Inputs from Reuters)