New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): Former Cricketer Kevin Pietersen has said that "the war, conflict and pandemic have made the world a scary place". He said that if sport can be used to unite and bring people together, it should be used for the purpose.

"The war is scary. Pandemics and future pandemics are scary. So when we talk about cricket and the opportunity to unite, sport should be used. I think that sport can be used in some sort of fashion to be able to try and mend it (the world)," he said.

Also Read | Raisina Dialogue 2023: G20 Quad Is Like The Beatles But Soft, Says Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi In Delhi.

A former captain of England cricket team, Pietersen was speaking on Friday at panel discussion 'Turbulence, Temperament, And Temerity: Leadership In The Age Of Uncertainty' at Raisina Dialogue here.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair were part of the panel discussion.

Also Read | Who Is Vijayapriya Nithyananda? Know All About the Representative of Nithyananda’s ‘United States of Kailasa’ Who Attended UN Meet in Geneva.

Pietersen referred to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions and said the world is at the moment is a scary place.

"Cricket is an issue because China and America don't play cricket. Russia definitely doesn't play cricket.." he said in a lighter vein.

He also talked about the world being digitally scary place.

Pietersen said politics should not merge with sports in a manner where it picks teams and favours different people.

"Right now, any opportunity to unify and unite, whether it's countries, whether it's people, it needs to happen," he said.

"The last couple of years has been chaos for all of us. So if there are new opportunities and we need to change the way that we think, I think now is the right time to do it. And if cricket or sport is something that can be used in a conversation why can't we use it," he added. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)