New Delhi:Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that the real impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Indian cricket will be seen in October when the domestic season for junior and women cricketers starts in the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc globally and brought everything to a standstill. Even, cricket has been on a standstill in India since mid March when the limited-overs series against South Africa was cancelled just before the coronavirus lockdown.
All the state associations, which have either indefinitely postponed or cancelled their tournaments are yet to resume operations following the nationwide lockdown, leaving the future of hundreds of domestic cricketers in trouble.
Dravid believes the pandemic's adverse effects may hurt Indian cricket more in October.
''We've been lucky so far ( that the pandemic started in March towards the end of BCCI's domestic season), but come October, things might start getting stressful.
A few international tournaments have been cancelled and repositioned, and people can always find time and place for that, but once October comes around, that's when I think it'll start hitting us more. The next domestic season, for a lot of our young domestic players - juniors, Under-16s, Under-19s and women cricketers ? start in October,'' Dravid said in a webinar hosted by Deccan Herald.
''If we aren't able to get back to a level of normalcy from then - it could take longer - we'll see the real impact on our domestic cricket and grassroots cricket. This year is probably more important for someone in his final year of Under-19s, than say for someone who is 23-24,'' he added.
International cricket has finally returned after nearly a four-month hiatus as England hosted the West Indies for a series of 3 Tests. Indian cricket will restart with the upcoming 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, which is all set to be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 19.(UNI)
