Ahead of the Test series against England, India skipper Virat Kohli expressed concerns about the mental health of the players, citing that the repetitive nature of bio-bubble life is tough and no cricketers of quality will be left due to stress.
Kohli’s comment comes as England’s ace all-rounder Ben Stokes recently took an indefinite break from all forms of cricket to prioritize his mental wellbeing.
According to Kohli, it won’t be long before cricketers start taking Stokes’ route and pull out of the marquee series.
“These breaks are very important, for me too. To refresh and come back. In any case, captaincy and shouldering a team’s responsibility can be stressful. To add to that, if you are confined in a bubble for a long time, things get even more difficult. These periodic breaks are very important,” Kohli told reporters on the eve of the first Test against England.
“Because if your players don’t survive to play, then maintaining the quality of cricket will get difficult. Like he’s (Stokes) taken a break, there could be more players in the future, at some stage or the other, who could get fatigued by the bubble life,” he added.
Team India were given a 20-day respite from the bubble life after the World Test Championship final. Following the break, the visitors assembled in Durham to play a three-day warm-up game before moving to Nottingham for the first Test.
“As a captain, I can say that subconsciously your mind is always functioning, you get so used to the team planning on a daily basis, you get very little time to switch off,” Kohli said.
“From that point of view, the break was vital. Also, you’ve seen Ben Stokes has taken a break, we have been operating in a bubble for more than a year and it’s not easy,” he further stated.
(With PTI inputs)
