Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar compared the fight against coronavirus to Test cricket.
Legendary former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has given a rather unusual take on the fight against the deadly outbreak of coronavirus. Tendulkar compared the battle against COVID-19 to the longest format of the game, saying that one should draw virtues like patience and defence from Test cricket in their fight against the virus.
"While the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, this is probably the time for of us to draw lessons from the grand old format of the game," Tendulkar wrote in a column for the Times of India.
"Test cricket rewards you for respecting what you don't understand. It makes you value the virtue of patience," he wrote.
The 48-year-old further related the current situation to those moments in Test cricket when a batsman fails to understand the pitch conditions and turns to defence instead.
"When you don't understand the pitch conditions or the bowler, defence becomes the best form of attack. Patience is what we require now, if we have to defend well," wrote Tendulkar.
"To use a cricketing metaphor; while individual brilliance can help a team in shorter formats of the game, in Test cricket it is all about partnerships and teamwork.
"Test cricket is about staging comebacks. There is always a second innings, if you've missed the first one."
He further added that all nations are ideally a part of one team, and the fight against coronavirus needs to be taken 'session by session'.
"Different countries are at different stages of their fight against coronavirus," he said.
"All nations should consider themselves part of one team.
"We shall take this battle session by session, and eventually emerge victorious."
Sachin Tendulkar, who retired from all forms of cricket in 2013, made a comeback to action earlier this month when he led the Indian Legends side in the Road Safety World Series. However, the series was postponed amid the outbreak of COVID-19.
