KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raza feels cricket boards around the world won't be able to sustain for long if matches keep getting cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.
The entire sporting calendar of the world has been ruined and cricket is no different. All bilateral series have been put on hold and national T20 leagues like the Indian Premier League has been postponed indefinitely.
"Cricket fans are starved now and the coronavirus pandemic has brought life to a standstill but I don't think cricket boards can survive for long like this. They can't continue to pay out salaries and expenses without having cricket activities it would be disastrous for them," Ramiz said on his Youtube channel.
Raja urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to open up a dialogue with other nations for resumption of cricket. He also suggested that playing matches behind closed doors should be considered as starting cricket again is the most important thing right now.
"I would also urge the Pakistan Cricket Board to think on these lines and hold talks with other boards to see how cricket activities can be resumed even behind closed doors," he said.
"The PCB can take the first step in initiating this conversation. Any cricket board, no matter how rich, cannot keep paying salaries in a perpetual lockdown situation. We need dialogue and planning to start cricket again," he said. "If fans cannot attend then holding it behind closed doors is an option," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Over 2.6 million people have been infected by the virus so far while 1.8 lakh people have lost their lives worldwide.