Michael Holding believes cricket's global shutdown amid COVID-19 pandemic has given the sport's administrators across the globe an excellent opportunity to introspect whether they are doing things right. 

Holding, the former West Indies pacer-turned-commentator, remains at grief over excessive commercialisation of the sport, which has meant extreme imbalance in the spread of different formats across the calendar, with greater preference given to the lucrative short-format games. 

Read Also: Holding, Donald weigh in over possibility of legalising ball-tampering post COVID-19

Hence, being forced to hit the pause button by the health crisis, reckons Holding, isn't such a bad thing for the game. 

"Just use the pause to look within the game, to look at what has been happening with the administrators, with the players, and think: Are we heading in the right direction? Is everything okay with our game? Personally, I don't think so," Holding told ESPNcricinfo.

"Everybody has just been head-over-heels charging down the hill, looking for every dollar available. But can we just pause a bit, hit a plateau for a bit and sit down and look and see if everything is fine? There is too much cricket being played, for one."

But as the game's suspension leads to heavy losses, various cricket boards will still be looking to prioritise the white-ball game and further cramp the calendar in order to make up for the money lost whenever cricket resumes. 

"A lot of administrations figure that they have to play some form of the game to satisfy their broadcasters. Because if the broadcasters don't get what they pay for, they are going to demand their money back," the 'Whispering Death' understands. 

"So they have to try and play cricket behind closed doors (an option discussed), or whatever form they can get to play. I can't fault them for trying to do that," Holding added. 

(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)