Sachin Tendulkar has expressed his unwillingness to have sports behind closed doors and said empty stadiums would be disappointing for the athletes as well.

“Empty stadiums would be so disappointing for players who are competing. There are lot of times when players respond to spectators. If I play a good shot and the manner in which crowd responds also brings in that energy,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview talking about the implications of the contagion that has infected millions.

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“Similarly, if a bowler bowls a fiery spell and the crowd is responding to it, it builds a kind of pressure on the batsman and he needs to respond to it.

“Spectators are integral to any sport. Their encouragement, vociferous chants for or against you is a necessity in sport,” said the batting icon, who turns 47 on Friday.

Reportedly, the legend will not celebrate his 47th birthday on Friday due to the ongoing crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and he wants to stand in solidarity with all the corona warriors who are fighting the deadly virus at the forefront.

“The medical staff are playing on the front foot and they are the heroes of the country today. He wants to bat for them now,” a spokesperson from Team Tendulkar was quoted as saying by the Mumbai Mirror.

“When he was batting, no one wanted him to get out, now he will not get out on his birthday. He is also requesting everyone not to get out,” the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, speaking further about how cricket would cope up in the post-coronavirus era, Tendulkar believed the usage of saliva to polish the ball would be reduced and also hugging and high fives could be avoided by the cricketers.

I think players will be wary for some time when it comes to using saliva (to shine the ball). It will play on their minds. Social distancing measures will be followed till the deadly virus is around.

“High fives and hugging your teammates will be avoided for some time. This is what I would like to believe. They will be conscious to begin with and may maintain social distancing,” Tendulkar said.