Gary Ballance not available for Yorkshire due to anxiety issues
Aug 22, 2020
London [UK], Aug 22 : England batsman Gary Ballance would not be available for selection for his county Yorkshire due to stress and anxiety-related issues.
The left-handed batsman recently suffered from a viral illness, however, all the time spent in isolation and then difficulties preparing for the resumption of county cricket has affected his well being, ESPNCricinfo reported.
Ballance had also taken some time out of the game to deal with personal matters in 2018.
"Gary is currently managing some heightened feelings of anxiety and stress following a long period of isolation due to the Covid-19 lockdown, his own recent viral illness, and other personal factors," Yorkshire said in an official statement.
"The post-viral symptoms have affected his physical preparation for this shortened cricket season. He is currently unavailable for selection and we are unable to put any timescales on his return to playing at this time. However, Gary has increased his training volumes over the last week and is working hard both in the nets and on his general fitness," it added.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, the batsman was Yorkshire's leading run-scorer in the County Championship last year, but he has not played in the Bob Willis Trophy to date.
He has returned to training but Yorkshire county has said that they would not confirm as to when the batsman will be back to playing.
"Gary's health and well-being remain our priority and the Club and medical staff will continue to work closely with Gary to support his return to playing as soon as possible. The club requests that Gary's privacy in this matter is respected to allow him to focus on his return to cricket," the county concluded.
