5 changes that may be brought in the game of cricket in the post-coronavirus world

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought all cricket to a halt everywhere.

The Coronavirus pandemic that has been raging in the whole world has brought the beloved game of cricket to a standstill.

The pandemic has affected more than one million two hundred thousand people with more than 65,000 losing their lives to it. With many countries locking down their borders and suspending all travel even within districts and cities in order to stop the transmission of the virus from humans to humans.

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and many bilateral series had to be postponed, including the final stages of the PSL 5 as well. Australia and New Zealand played one ODI behind closed doors and PSL also held some matches in empty stadiums and it remains to be seen what changes the deadly pandemic has brought onto cricket.

Keeping this in mind, Team COC presents to you the five possible scenarios and ways cricket may see changes in the post- COVID-19 world.

Here are the 5 ways cricket may change in the post-coronavirus world

No handshakes post-match

This was a thing adopted during the one ODI played between Australia and New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which was played behind closed doors. Instead of high fives and shaking hands when a wicket fell, playing were touching elbows to celebrate. Also Australia captain Aaron Finch and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson touched elbows during the toss.

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Touching elbows were also seen when the match ended and players from both sides met. This may become a norm in the coming times, when cricket returns in post-COVID 19 world, as players might want to keep themselves safe from touching one another, given that it is a way to spread Coronavirus.

Also, the teams clapped for each other after the game got over, instead of following the tradition of shaking hands. 

Closed doors

Some of the last few league matches of the PSL 5 were played in empty stadiums as the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic became serious and organizers wanted to keep the fans safe. The days of seeing cramped stadiums with fans touching shoulder to shoulder may be over for the near future, given scientists have found that Coronavirus spreads in large gatherings.

Justin Langer bats for cricket behind closed doors amid COVID-19 pandemic

There was even one positive case of COVID-19 found in the thousands that attended the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Maharashtra state government, along with Karnataka and other states refused to host matches for the IPL 2020 before it was suspended till 15^th April.

However, we might not see fans enjoying the game, even when it resumes in the coming months, as cricket boards would opt to bring the game back in empty stadiums, in order to keep the fans from getting affected by the deadly virus.

Even Australia coach Justin Langer has urged to resume the game behind closed doors to keep both the players and fans safe.

Health checks and Sanitization for fans

The scientists have come up with novel ways of sanitizing people and checking their health in times of need. When and if the fans are allowed to visit the stadiums to enjoy the matches, something that is possible, only when the pandemic has died down or some sort of containment has been found, one might see ways to keep fans and other officials safe.

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One such way this could be done is by checking the temperatures of the fans before entering the stadium and while exiting. This should be done alongside sanitizing them by the way of putting up a tunnel through which they need to enter the venue, in which they are sprayed with a sanitizing solution. This has to be done while going in and coming out of the matches.

As they say, precaution is better than cure.

No saliva on the ball

The fans have often seen bowlers and fielders using their saliva to shine the cricket ball. It is done to get the ball to swing in the air, by keeping one side shiny, while the other gets roughed up. Apart from saliva, cricketers often use their sweat as well. However, this might all come to an end after the Coronavirus pandemic.

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The virus stays alive in the saliva and is spread by people coughing and sneezing. If the droplets in the air enter other people via mouth or nose, one is affected by the virus. Therefore, using the saliva on the ball to shine it becomes a big no-no and the ICC and players themselves will forego this practice for the foreseeable future to keep themselves and others safe.

Social distancing

The biggest mantra that this pandemic has given us is ‘social distancing’. This is due to the fact that the virus doesn’t have a range of more than 6 feet to travel in the air. Hence the medical experts have asked the citizens to stay keep atleast that much distance between them while going out for shopping or buying other essentials.

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This will also be practiced when the crowd returns to the stadiums once the pandemic dies out a little. No longer will one witness packed stadiums despite the capacity to do so as the boards might be forced to fill them less may be up to 70% of their capacity so that the social distancing can be maintained. This might cause a loss in revenue for many big stadiums, but human life comes paramour than anything else.