IPL brings positivity, hopefully it will happen: Shikhar Dhawan

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is hoping that the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is successfully held later in the year as the swashbuckling southpaw opined that the tournament brings a lot of positivity. The veteran batsman said that it is crucial for sports to come back to life in India as it improves the environment and mood. 

“Hopefully, the IPL will happen. I always think in a positive manner. It will be really good if the tournament goes ahead... the security of everyone will need to be taken care of. If it happens, it will be really good as it brings a lot of positivity,” Dhawan told Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews in an Instagram live video chat.

“It’s very important that some sports return to improve the environment and mood... it will have a huge impact if the IPL returns.”

Dhawan accepted that playing without any fans in the stadiums would not bring the same feeling in the IPL as they bring their own charm into games but added everyone would be hungry to perform and give their best on the field whenever live cricket returns. Earlier, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had said matches without crowd won’t have “same magic” in matches. 

“Obviously, we are going to miss playing in front of a huge crowd if tournaments take place behind closed doors, the fans bring their own charm and aura, but at the same time, it would be an opportunity as we have been sitting at our homes for two months now,” the batsman added.

“Once we go back, we all will be very hungry to play and perform for our teams, it is going to be good fun, at the end of the day, when we are playing, it is always a good feeling.”