IPL 2020: Eoin Morgan says, Cricket in bio-bubbles can affect “Mental Health”
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England’s white-ball captain, Eoin Morgan has said that players should be allowed to withdraw from tours if the bio-secure bubbles are affecting their “mental health“.
Since then, players have been confined to bio-secure bubbles during tours and tournaments, including the ongoing IPL 2020, which is being held UAE.
Morgan said, “We managed to fulfill all of our international fixtures for the summer,“
Morgan is also the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2020. He said, “But to keep that level of bubble for 10 of the 12 months that we normally travel, I think is untenable. You can drill a player both mentally and physically. And it can cause extreme burnout, which nobody wants to see.“
England hosted West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia this summer. All the matches were played in either Manchester or Southampton. Players travel was restricted to the on-site hotels and the grounds. And Morgan feels that more such tours will only increase stress level.
“We’ve spoken about this as a team and we’ve accepted that guys will come in and out of the bubble as they feel it is affecting their mental health,” Morgan said.
He further added, “I don’t think people should look down on it and they shouldn’t feel like people aren’t doing their job or not committing to their country.“
“That’s a reactive way of dealing with things and we want to be at the forefront of making it acceptable for people to say ‘I need to spend time with my family now and I’m taking this tour off’ just because of the extraordinary circumstances.” He said.
England are set to tour South Africa next month. Tours of Sri Lanka and India will follow next year.
Eoin Morgan’s opinion reiterated by Jason Holder
West Indies Test captain, Jason Holder, reiterated Morgan’s opinion. Holder believes going from one bubble to another has been “demanding“.
“It’s been demanding. It has been challenging,” Holder said. Holder is also a part of the ongoing season of IPL. He replaced the injured Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in Sunrisers Hyderabad last month.
“And if you look at scheduling, it doesn’t get any easier. It’s literally going from bubble to bubble. Some places are accepting families and some aren’t. So it makes it harder to be away from your family and your loved ones.” Holder added further.
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