Hyderabad: The year 2020 was supposed to be the year of 'the sports' but then COVID-19 threw a spanner and everything came to a halt. Major sporting events including the Tokyo Olympics, UEFA European Championship (informally known as the Euros) and ICC men's T20 World Cup were postponed owing to the pandemic.
Different sports leagues in the world including Premier League, La Liga, NBA and Serie A among other major events were deferred. Back home, BCCI's million-dollar baby, Indian Premier League, also suffered a sharp blow as the cash-rich league was first postponed and then suspended.
However, sporting events across the globe have resumed in steps but even as the drama unfolds on the ground, the stadiums are still empty.
And even BCCI has somehow managed to convince the Indian government to let them hold the IPL albeit a thousand miles away from home in the United Arab Emirates.
Playing behind closed doors or with the restricted crowd in the stadium as well as without all the glittering non-sporting events in the ground would be a new experience for the fans as well for the players. It would be interesting to see how players would motivate themselves without their loyal supporters in the stands.
Ahead of the much-anticipated 13th edition of IPL, here we take a look at five players, whose perfomance might get hampered in absence of fans.
1. Virat Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli enjoys a massive fan base across the globe. The dashing RCB captain is known for his on-field banter with the spectators. Kohli is somebody, who gets in groove and gets more and more excited with the fans' reactions.
For Kohli, it does not matter whether the fans are in his favour or against him as long as they are there. If the fans are jeering the 31-year-old, he would be at his best just to shut down his critics. And if the spectators are cheering for him, he would take inspiration from their enthusiasm to do well.
So, it would be really interesting to see how Virat Kohli would cope with playing behind closed doors.
2. AB de Villiers
Former South African skipper AB de Villiers is a man of many talents. He is Mr 360 of cricket, a professional singer, swimmer and a national level rugby player.. remember that cool guy, the heartthrob of our class? Yes. ABD is that guy. He is that guy of every group, who gets attention for even being silent.
One can say, ABD always get followed into the limelight and ever since his retirement from international cricket in 2018, it has gone to another level. It is like the fans can not get enough of him.
So when the dazzling De Villiers would walk to bat in a near-empty stadium of UAE, it would be fascinating to see how he responds to this challenge.
3. Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is another name who likes putting on a show for fans. While his antics would be much appreciated by the fans sitting home watching the IPL live, he won't get the same reactions he is used from the stands.
So watching the lively Jamaican batter in the upcoming edition of IPL would be spellbinding.
4. DJ Bravo
Much like South African ace ABD, DJ Bravo is a multitalented man. And he enjoys flaunting his abilities in front of his fans. And ahead of the 13th edition of the cash-rich league, fans are curious to know, whether playing without crowd would hamper Bravo's on-field perfomance or not.
5. Imran Tahir
Though Imran Tahir is not as interactive with the crowd as the likes of Virat Kohli or DJ Bravo, he is somebody, who really enjoys applause from the crowd.
Tahir's celebration, the way he runs all over the stadium after taking a wicket, says how much he enjoys entertaining the fans.
So when last year's finalist Chennai Super Kings would kick-start their campaign against defending champions Mumbai, it would be interesting to see how Tahir motivates himself.
