A lot of Indian players left home to travel to the UAE in August for IPL 2020. They then traveled to Australia for an all-format series that ended in January 2021. After a couple of weeks of staying at home, they once again re-grouped in Chennai for the England series.
Once the England series will get over on March 28, IPL 2021 will be just a few days away and the players might have to directly move into the bio-bubbles with their franchises.
That will mean about 8 months of action for most of the Indian players with just a break of under a fortnight to be with their families in that period. Since the players now have been made to stay alone in quarantine, it gets a lot more taxing and mentally challenging.
As a result, Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has asked for the players to get some rest after the conclusion of IPL 2021 to keep them fresh for the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.
Ravi Shastri told Star Sports, "I do believe you need a break from international cricket at some point. After the England series, yes they go into the IPL. Again after the IPL, a couple of weeks off is a must. Because in these quarantines, in these bubbles, it is mentally draining. You are a human, at the end of it all."
The Indian team has just come off a tiring series in Australia and have two major events scheduled this year - a possible ICC World Test Championship final in England and the ICC T20 World Cup in India. However, Shastri mentioned that Team India is taking it one step at a time.
"As far as this team goes, this team takes pride in its performance. we will take it one step at a time. Every series is important. Every format is important. And we have got the volume of players, we have the bench strength to accommodate across all formats. So there will be the hunger to perform," the head coach said.
(With inputs from India Today)
