Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly feels that Indian cricketers are more tolerant than the players from abroad in terms of handling the bio-bubble pressure.
During a virtual unveiling of the Mpower mental healthcare centre in Kolkata, Ganguly said: “I feel we Indians are a bit more tolerant than overseas (cricketers). I’ve played with a lot of Englishmen, Australians, West Indians… they just give up on mental health.”
“In the last six-seven months, with so much cricket being going on in the bio-bubble, it’s tough. Just going from the hotel room to the ground, handle the pressure and come back to the room and then get back to the ground again, it’s an absolutely different life,” added he.
Citing the example of the Australian team’s decision not to travel to South Africa due to the fear of Covid-19, the former India captain said: “Look at the Australian team. They were supposed to go to South Africa for a Test series after India played in Australia. But they refused to go to.”
“There’s always this scare of Covid, as the players feel ‘hope it’s not me the next time’. You have to stay positive, you have to train yourself mentally. All of us have to train ourselves mentally so that the good things happen. It all boils down to training,” he expressed.
Significantly, several cricketers England’s fast bowler Mark Wood, Australian wicket-keeper batsman Joshua Philippe, pacers Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood had recently pulled out of the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) citing bubble fatigue.
All the cricketers opting out of the cash-rich league have spoken on the challenge of playing under the constant restrictions of quarantines and bio-bubbles.