Not Safe To Play Cricket Until At Least October 2020: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar said that the series between England and West Indies, next month will help to evaluate if cricket can be played or not

Photo: PTI

Indian cricket team former captain and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar said the resumption of cricket can take a back seat for at least next two months until India wins the battle against coronavirus pandemic. The iconic India former batsman is of the opinion that cricket can wait until the nation defeats the deadly disease that has claimed thousands of lives across the world. "We are all maintaining social distancing and taking precautions according to what the doctors are telling us but the virus seems to show no sign of stopping," Gavaskar told Aaj Tak. "As the rate of testing is increasing so is the number of cases and so I don't really feel it is safe to play cricket for the next two months at the very least. Maybe until October it is difficult to play cricket. "The series between England and West Indies that will happen next month in a bio-secure environment will be a good test. It will help us evaluate if we can play cricket or not." Due to the threat posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, BCCI on Friday called off team India's tour of Zimbabwe in August. The announcement by the Indian cricket board was on the cards after the apex body had announced on Thursday that India's limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka in June-July had been postponed indefinitely. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced that the Indian Cricket Team will not travel to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe owing to the current threat of COVID-19," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.