Pakistan’s bowling coach and former captain Waqar Younis is concerned about the mental health of players as they endure isolating bio-secure bubbles to play cricket internationally or domestically in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Waqar said that he is worried that players in Pakistan might face mental health issues if cricket continued to be played for more time in the COVID-19 situation.
“It is not easy for players or officials to spend so much time in the bio-secure conditions and it could eventually affect their mental health,” he warned.
Players, while competing, are being completely isolated from their surroundings in bio-bubbles to negate the risk of infection.
The former fast bowling great said that he could understand the changed situation due to the pandemic but insisted that cricket boards need to seriously look at the mental health aspect as well while organising matches.
“This is an issue that is not just about Pakistan cricket but concerns the entire cricket world.”
He pointed out that recently some bilateral tours had not come off because of disagreements between boards over the quarantine and isolation periods for players and support staff.
“It is difficult for players and support staff to spend days and weeks at end in a restricted environment. The tour to England was a learning curve for us in this regard and that is why I am concerned about the future,” he said.
“I just hope that the COVID-19 situation does not continue for a long time,” he added.
Waqar also felt that any player opting out of matches or tours because of COVID-19 restrictions should not be disrespected.
He cited the example of Pakistani batsman, Haris Sohail who had opted out of the tour to England for the same reason.
“If was his decision and one we have to respect because he is an established Test player for us,” he said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor