Cricketers will have to live with COVID-19: Gambhir

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir doesn't see major changes in the way cricket is played in the post COVID-19 scenario besides the ban on using saliva on the ball.

The International Cricket Council is considering legalisation of the usage of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of saliva.

"I don't think a lot of rules and regulations will be changed, you can probably have an alternate for the usage of saliva -- apart from that I don't think so many changes will happen," Gambhir told Star Sports.

"Players and everyone else need to live with this virus; probably they have to get used to it that there is a virus and that it will be around. Players might end up catching it, and you got to live with it."

Though social distancing is possible in cricket to a certain extent, other sports will find it tougher when sporting action resumes, said the southpaw. 

"Social distancing and other rules may not be easy for any sport to maintain. You can still manage to do it with cricket, but how will you do it in football, hockey and other sports as well. So, I think you just have to live with it, probably the sooner you accept it, the better it is," Gambhir said.