Australian cricket team to continue shaking hands despite corona virus threat

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The Australian cricket team will continue the tradition of shaking hands after a game, the head coach Justin Langer confirmed on Monday. After the English cricket team stated that they will do away with the custom and fist bump only during their series of Sri Lanka due to the coronavirus threat, Langer added that the policy will not be applied in the Aussie dressing room.

The deadly coronavirus has claimed the lives of three Australians thus far, with more than 3000 people dying globally. Around 90,000 people have been affected due to disease that started in Wuhan in China. The rapid spread of the coronavirus has forced a number of sporting events across the globe to be cancelled, with serious question marks over the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the IPL 2020.

Handshake Carey

Australia will take part in a three-match ODI series against New Zealand from Friday, and Langer made it clear that the Aussies will not change the way they interact with their rivals. He, however, added that the team will take precautions and that a number of hand sanitizers will be kept in the dressing room.

“No, we’ll keep shaking hands… there’s plenty of hand sanitiser in the Australian kits,” he told cricket.com.au Monday following the team’s 3-0 series loss in South Africa.

“I’m sure we’ll just keep shaking hands and move on from that,” he added.

Earlier last month, English skipper Joe Root had stated that his team would take the required precautions on their tour of Sri Lanka and not shake hands.

“We are not shaking hands with each other, using instead the well-established fist bump, and we are washing hands regularly and wiping down surfaces using the anti-bacterial wipes and gels we’ve been given in our immunity packs,” he said.

Langer also went on to add that some key players were exhausted heading into the ODI series as the team have been playing non-stop since the World Cup last year. After the World Cup, the Aussies took part in a gruelling Ashes series in England, which was followed by home series’ against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The Aussies then travelled to India for three ODIs in January, following which they took on South Africa. They will now take on New Zealand, after which the key stars will fly down to India for the IPL.

“The truth is we’ve got some weary boys at the moment, particularly our senior players,” he said.

“They play so much cricket and you think about what they’ve done… since we started the World Cup (in England last year).

“They’re mentally tough guys but it’s a real challenge for us.”