Will be interesting how players react to empty stands: Jayawardene
Kolkata, June 22 (IANS) Former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene stated he is intrigued to see how England and West Indies cricketers react to playing in front of empty stands and has also backed the idea of introducing artificial crowd noise like it is being done in football for the television audience.
England will host West Indies in a three-Test series from next month which will mark the restart of the game since being halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It will be interesting how players react to empty stadiums… try and soak up that atmosphere,” Jayawardene said on Sony Network for their show Pit Stop on their Instagram page.
“The skills of the players as well. It might take a little bit of time for them to find their feet. Test cricket won’t be easy and it depends on the weather as well in England. Everyone is starving for live sports,” the Mumbai Indians head coach added.
Asked if artificial crowd noise for the television audience could be introduced in cricket too when matches begin behind closed doors, he said: “We can have something like that when you hit 6s and 4s… wicket goes.
“It will be different but something is better than nothing. For cricketers, it will be something new to get used to that (empty stands). They will remember that a lot of people at home will watch them perform. But definitely it is going to be something strange,” he said.
Jayawardene also said chances of getting injured for players will be high as they will take the field after a long gap.
“You haven’t played for 3-4 months, all of a sudden you are there, there is a good chance there will be niggling injuries here and there. You also have to manage that workload…depends on how much the group is playing.”
Talking about the dressing room at Mumbai Indians who are the most successful IPL franchise with four titles, Jayawardene said each individual is different and as a coach it is his job to create an environment where all these characters come together and perform as a unit.
“All these guys have different characteristics. You need to allow them to express themselves.
“You need to create an environment where these characters come together and perform. It’s more management. You need to be a manager for these players.
Bums (Jasprit Bumrah) is quiet but when he goes out in the middle there is a different beast. Hardik (Pandya) can be a bit loud off the field and he can be loud on the field. I enjoy that. That dressing room, we got some amazing guys. So talented. It’s been a pleasure managing those guys and being part of the franchise.”
–IANS
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