Bizarre, it is like warm-up tie: Warner on playing without fans

Australian opener David Warner, on Friday, termed as 'bizarre' the experience of playing behind closed doors, which it said was like playing a warm-up game.

Australia played against New Zealand in an ODI without spectators on March 13, which till date stands as the last international cricket match before the coronavirus pandemic suspended cricketing action across the globe.

"It was really bizarre, we are so used to saying yes or no when we want to run but we were not required to do that. It was like playing a warm-up match. I do not know for how long you can sustain that, clapping from the crowd gives you motivation. It is bizarre, our Rugby league is starting now and they will be playing without any crowd," Warner said during an Instagram live session with Indian opener Rohit Sharma.

"It is weird watching that as well, I do not know what it will be like if we play behind closed doors. However, the government is taking all these precautions for the right reasons," the left-handed batsman added.

The 33-year-old further stated that when India tours Australia, due to the humongous supporters of the side, it looks like the hosts are playing an away game.

"When you guys come here in Australia, it looks like we are playing an away game on our own backyard," he said.

Warner said it was difficult for him to watch from outside as he was serving the one-year ban for ball-tampering and was not part of the Australian squad along with Steve Smith.

"Watching that series in 2018 was challenging. You cannot do anything from the outside. You guys had a good attack against the left-handed batsmen. It was a great thing for Indian cricket. It was hard to watch as an Australian, I know the Australian team fought well. Hopefully, the series happens this year, I am looking forward to the battle," Warner said.

During the 2018-19 series, India managed to defeat Australia in Australia for the first time in a Test series. However, the series later this year promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.