Cricket in South Africa faces uncertainty as the virus outbreak poses an existential threat to the country and the sports scene.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) acting chief executive Jacques Faul stated in an online press conference that the world will never be the same. With that, he referred to how the existence of big cricket in the world may be uncertain even after the pandemic ends. He talked about how cricket may be confined to backyards and parks as the bigger stadiums are put to good use to handle the situation.
As per Faul, the resources which are available need should be assessed to see how far they can stretch. Looking at a long-term view of the scenario, the biggest sources of income of the cricket industry may also be affected by the crisis. In fact, the broadcast industry is also one of those who will also be badly affected by the absence of cricket events.
‘Sport is the most important thing in our lives and it does feed a lot of mouths, but we've got to be honest - the world has got bigger challenges than our industry and our challenges’, said Faul. ‘Players would lose out is on match fees and winning bonuses. But we'll have to look at the financial impact post this season - how much money will be available to contract players. We've got to crunch the numbers first and experience the total effect of COVID-19. For now, I don't see anybody getting less money than they've been contracted for. In future, there is a likelihood that the players' allocation would be less’.
Cricket in South Africa is bound to start in June once more. However, everything remains uncertain as the situation seems to worsen each passing day and as the funds remain unstable. To know more about how cricket is played, visit Betwala.
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