As the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan said the players need a break to be fresh and rejuvenated for the global event later this year.
He further pointed out that Pakistan has been playing a lot of cricket since the resumption of the game post-COVID-19 outbreak and spending a lot of time in the bio-bubble. Rizwan also mentioned that living in the bio-bubble all the time isn’t easy at all, saying it is putting the players under mental strain.
With the T20 World Cup 2021 scheduled to be held from October 17 to November 14 in the UAE and Oman, Pakistan players want a break to be fresh for the upcoming showpiece event and reports suggested that Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Hassan Ali will be rested for the ODI series against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka next month.
Rizwan said during a virtual session on Thursday: “It is not easy remaining in the bio-bubble all the time and we have been playing a lot of cricket in the last one year and more. It is good for us but at the same time it becomes a mental strain on the players as well.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan lost the first Test against the West Indies by one wicket and Rizwan said it was disappointing, but is confident to make a strong comeback in the second Test starting on August 20.
The Test vice-captain said, “The bottom line is we lost the Test after coming so close to winning it and it hit us and we are now looking to bounce back strongly in the second Test.”
He signed off by saying, “I think it is also important to look at players who make small but game-changing contributions in a match. We need such impact players. Our main focus now is to level this series by winning the second game and getting equal points from it.”
(With PTI Inputs)
