"Would be devastating if India don’t tour Australia due to COVID-19 pandemic"
Story highlights
Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne on Monday said that he and his teammates would be “pretty devastated” if India don’t tour Australia later in the year 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne on Monday said that he and his teammates would be “pretty devastated” if India don’t tour Australia later in the year 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. India is set to head Down Under in the month of October to play a T20I tri-series followed by a four-match Test series in December.
There are plenty of talks going on surrounding India’s tour of Australia given the current travel restrictions in the country until September.
Replying to a question about the tour in an online press conference, Labuschagne said: “Well it would mean that we are not playing cricket which is pretty devastating for me, the rest of the team and for the country.”
Before India’s tour Down Under, Australia are scheduled to host the T20 World Cup starting October 18, however, there are dark clouds hovering around the mega event given the uncertainty due to global crisis. While Australia has reported just over 6,800 positive cases with less than 100 casualties in the country, Labuschange lauded the Australian healthcare system and the way they have tackled the virus thus far.
ALSO READ: Thought of committing suicide three times due to personal problems, stress: Mohammed Shami
“Australia has done very well with the quarantine and isolation, so we’ve been able to get our number down relatively quickly. With a limited amount of deaths and our healthcare system has been so good during this time,” he said.
“Hopefully because of all that good work we can actually get India over here in 3-4 months or 4-5 months,” Labusachgne added.
“Everything is changing so quickly so it’s really hard to put my finger on how everything’s going to pan out. Hopefully, it does pan out well but if it doesn’t it will be very disappointing.” In the meantime, the 25-year-old, who has enjoyed a breakout year in Tests and ODIs, is working on sharpening his skills during this forced break.
The classy batsman, touted to be Steve Smith heir for Australia, further said that the current phase is unprecedented and best time to review your game and come out as a better player.
“This time is quite unique and has never happened before. It’s a good opportunity to make sure you’re learning from the situation and reviewing your game and understanding what you can continue to do to get better as a player.”