India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has slammed Jasprit Bumrah’s comment of players needing a break in the era of bio-bubble cricket. Bumrah’s comments came after India lost its second straight match in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
India has already lost two matches in group 2 of the Super 12s stage of the ongoing ICC event, first losing to Pakistan by 10 wickets and then getting defeated at the hands of New Zealand by 8 wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah, who attended the press conference after the loss to New Zealand, pointed out how the players have been on the road since the IPL season began in April. The Test team also toured England before the Covid-hit IPL resumed in the United Arab Emirates in September.
"Absolutely, sometimes you need a break. You miss your family. You've been on the road for six months. So all of that sometimes play on the back of your mind. But when you're on the field, you don't think of all those things ... Obviously, staying in a bubble and staying away from your family for such a long period of time does play a role.
The BCCI also tried their best to make us feel comfortable ... It's a difficult time. There's a pandemic going on, so we try to adapt but sometimes bubble fatigue, mental fatigue also creeps in," Bumrah said.
However, Sunil Gavaskar was not in agreement with Bumrah’s comments calling playing for India a huge privilege.
“Well, you are playing for India, everything has got to recede into the background. It’s as simple as that. Playing for India is an unbelievable privilege. It’s a huge honor to represent your country because there are millions who want to get the India cap. So you are really privileged to do that. There should be no real excuse.
You have got to go out there and give it your best. And that’s all the fans are expecting. We all know you can’t win every game,” Gavaskar said on India Today.
Gavaskar, part of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team, said that the current unit was a champion side, and they will have to sort out why they are not doing well in the ICC tournaments.
“In sport, you are going to lose some. Even great teams lose. Make no mistake, this Indian team is a great, top, champion team. But only in the multi-country tournaments, they have not done well. That is something they have to do and not talk of anything else,” he said.
