New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik has no qualms playing top-flight cricket in empty stadiums. He said majority of the players ‘have grown up’ turning out in domestic matches with few watching them.
Playing in empty stadiums
Opinions are divided on whether sporting events should be played behind closed doors. The BCCI is contemplating holding matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in empty stadiums once the pandemic subsides.
“For a lot of us, we have grown up playing domestic cricket without crowds. So it should not be too new to us,” Karthik said Thursday during an ‘Instachat’ with former England medium-pacer Isa Guha.
The 34-year-old out-of-favour India stumper added, “It would feel weird for sure. We have never played IPL without fans. However, we have grown up playing domestic cricket where nobody is watching us.”
Commentators inviting controversy
During the chat session, Karthik also spoke about cricket commentators’ tendencies to make controversial remarks about players.
“Lots of players get hurt by what commentators say. See they are talking about you as a player and not a person. One more thing, if they don’t talk about you then you are not relevant is what I feel,” Karthik pointed out.
“I remember watching an interview by Ian Chappell. When a player asked him why you said this about me, he said ‘your job is to play…my job is to talk. Let’s stick to our jobs. Then there was not so much social media but now there is,” Karthik said.
Agencies
