Moeen Ali blames busy international schedule for players' mental health problems

Mental health becoming a major problem in the game.

Mental health of cricketers has come into the spotlight after Maxwell took a break from the game | Getty Images

The issue of mental health has become a talking point among the cricket fraternities ever since Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell took a break from the game due to the mental issues.

In the modern age of the game, there is a lot of pressure on the players to maintain their spot in the national side with their continuous success on the field, and if they could not, it brings mental anxiety which forces a cricketer to struggle with mental health.

Even sometimes, cricketers become a victim of their own success on the field, while the hectic schedule often makes their body and mind dormant as well.

On Monday, November 18, England all-rounder Moeen Ali has come out with his opinion the current matter of mental health in cricket, saying players are struggling with the mental problems because of the current too busy international schedule which makes them mentally tired.

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The all-rounder had also made himself unavailable for the ongoing New Zealand tour but not because of the mental problems.  

Moeen told IANS, “I had a break but it wasn't for mental reasons. I took the break because I felt tired. There's so much cricket played at the moment. Mentally, you become tired. You feel drained up doing the same warm-up and other things while playing the game.”

Recently, Indian captain Virat Kohli lauded Maxwell for his 'courage' to admit to his mental problems while revealing himself faced such problems during his horrific 2014 Test series in England after Australia’s Will Pucosvski and Nic Maddinson also opted for sabbaticals citing mental problems.

The Englishman continued, “We do have a life outside cricket. We have our families. I think, at present, there is too much international cricket. Cricket is a difficult sport. So, I think it's very important to come out, take a break, and then go back strong.”

On England's chances at the 2020 T20 World Cup, Ali said: “We have a very good chance just like India and Australia. Recently, we were in New Zealand. We didn't have probably our strongest side but still, we played well. It shows the depth of our cricket. We are almost at our peak in white-ball cricket.”

The all-rounder has also picked Jasprit Bumrah one of the toughest bowlers he has faced so far along with Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga. Moeen signed off by saying, “Bumrah is hard work. I find batting against Malinga also difficult.”

(With IANS Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 19 Nov, 2019

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