Pity everything is blocked off: Steyn on COVID-19 impact on sports

Chilling at home after coming back from a coronavirus-forced "hotel arrest" in Pakistan, South African pacer Dale Steyn feels it's a pity that sporting events are being cancelled en masse due to crisis as "if you take sport away, n I don't kw really what we have."Steyn, who returned from Pakistan due to virus outbreak, said it's indescribable how situation changed in a matter of hours. He was playing for Islamab United in Pakistan Super League which was suspended on day of its semifinal clashes.

"It is actually such a pity that everything is being blocked off, because in a country like South Africa, where we have all of our problems from past - culture, religion, ethnic backgrounds - one thing that brings everybody toger is sport," Steyn told 'ESPNCricinfo'.

"But w at moment, you don't have that. In South Africa, we kind of like looking for things that unite people in big, big groups. When you don't have sport, it's like, oh, what do we fall back onto?"And I think Nelson Mandela was first person to really say that: sport unites people in a way that thing else does. And if you take sport away, n I don't kw really what we have. We're gonna have to work it all out."Major events such as Euro and Copa America football, French Open tennis and Formula One races have been postponed due to health emergency gripping world. Despite panic all around, Steyn said he has avoided stockpiling essentials like many ors as it's unfair to do so in a crisis.

"It just seems like it is only topic of conversation. Any WhatsApp groups that I'm part of, it's really tough to escape. rmally if I am on holiday I'll be planning a fishing trip or a surfing trip. At moment I am just chilling at home," Steyn said."We were under that kind of hotel arrest - vised t to go out and wander streets, which is totally fine; I don't want to break protocol and (have) something happen and be blamed for cricket never being played in Pakistan again because I did something stupid." COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to more than 8,000 deaths globally, has raised fears that markets maybe shut in coming days and households may run out of essentials but hoarding is t an option for Steyn."We just decided that stockpiling is definitely t way to go. It is t fair on everybody who needs that stuff. I went to grocery store or day and everyone h bought all toilet paper," he said.

"We have what we need, and when that runs out, that runs out, and we need to go and get some more. We didn't feel it was necessary to go and absolutely just, like, zombie our lives up."re's or people that live on a day-to-day basis. y are t going to get all of that stuff, so we thought it was best t to do that," Steyn who is living with his mor and his girlfriend, ded.If he were to watch a match or two from past on video while he is stuck at home, which would that be?"I would probably say that y should put every World Cup up until '99 on. So 1992, '96, '99 - I love those World Cups," he said."And even one in South Africa (2003) because that's when I really started to get into guys like Brett Lee, because I knew possibility of me playing against m or meeting m was so much closer than what it was in, say, '92, when I first got introduced to game."

Asked which team-mates he would to be quarantined with, Steyn said, " I would love to be in quarantine with someone like Quinny de Kock.""He is one of my favourite people in world. If you walk into his (hotel) room, he's eir making flies for fishing or he is watching a fishing video or he is watching a cooking video. And when you are at his house, he's doing same stuff."I hate cooking, so it would be great if he was. Because n I could watch all fishing videos that he's watching, I could help him do all tying, and he could cook all food. He's a proper cook," he ded.