Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals captain Gautam Gambhir believes that the coronavirus situation will not affect the players mindset much during the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“I don’t think that players will be afraid of it. It is important to be in the bio-secure bubble and follow the guidelines. Just because of one person, the tournament can’t be sacrificed. So, it is important to follow the instructions and guidelines,” ANI quoted Gambhir as saying.

Advertisement

Speaking about the chances of Delhi Capitals in the 13th season of the cash-rich tournament, Gambhir said that since most of the cricketers have been out of action for a long time it would be unfair to predict anything beforehand.

“IPL is a kind of tournament where any team can beat another team. The most important thing is how you start the journey. Also, the Indian players haven’t played any cricket for the last 6 months so whether they are rusty or not will be known once the tournament starts,” he said.

The 2020 season of the IPL will be played for 53 days from September 19 to November 10 across three venues in the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.

The final match will be played on a Tuesday, to make it the first-ever IPL to have its final on a weekday. The matches this season will also start 30 minutes before their original time of 4 PM and 8 PM.

Meanwhile, speaking about the comeback plan of former Indian all-roundee Yuvraj Singh, Gambhir welcomed his decision and said that it would be great to have him back on the field.

“It’s his personal decision and each and everyone loves seeing Yuvi play. If he wants to play for Punjab so why not? You can’t force a cricketer to start or to end and if he wants to come back from retirement and play with motivation, he is most welcome.”

Yuvraj, who retired from competitive cricket in 2019, has decided to make his comeback to play for Punjab in domestic T20 competition. He has reportedly written an application to Sourav Ganguly to seek the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s permission.