Rahul Dravid reckons there will be fear and doubt in players' mind when cricket resumes

International cricket is completely stopped since March amid COVID-19 outbreak across the world. While the cricket is set to resume in countries like Vanuatu and Caribbean islands, there are still talks going on among the boards over the resumption of the sport at the international level. England is pondering hosting Pakistan and West Indies in July and August behind closed doors while Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is awaiting BCCI‘s response to host India in July.

Whenever it starts, Rahul Dravid feels there will be some fear and doubts in everyone’s mind due to what has transpired over the last few months. He also believes that it will be a challenge for the athletes to get back to the field after doing absolutely nothing during the lockdown. However, Dravid reckons it isn’t a big issue as the players will forget everything once they will return to the field.

“For a short period, there may be a sense of doubt or fear about certain things. I am sure there will be a certain hesitancy when we get back in, also there will be certain hesitancy in terms of people. Personally, I don’t see that (the Covid-enforced break) as a huge problem. I don’t think that once elite sportspersons get on the field, get to do what they really love, they will have a problem.

“One of the challenges for a lot of sportspersons will be to trust their bodies after two or three months of not playing sports or movements that are associated with sports,” he said while speaking at a Facebook Live show, titled Staying Ahead of the Curve alongside Abhinav Bindra and Prakash Padukone.

A lot of cricketers can extend their careers, feels Rahul Dravid

According to Rahul Dravid, this break has come as a blessing in disguise for the cricketers as they seldom get such a long off during their regular schedule unless they get injured. He also feels that this is also an opportunity for some of the players to extend their careers by resting their body and getting fitter.

“I have been telling a lot of the cricketers to see it as an opportunity to rest the body, rest the mind, you will never get that opportunity, never get that chance. Think about it, if you use these two months well, three months well, you could elongate your career by two or three years at the back end which you might not have if you didn’t have this kind of break,” the former India U19 coach added.