We try to adapt but sometimes bubble and mental fatigue creeps in, says Bumrah
Oct 31, 2021
Dubai [UAE], November 1 : Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah opened about the bio-bubble fatigue that cricketers are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic after New Zealand thrashed Men in Blue by 8 wickets in the Group 2 match of Super 12 stage of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
A bio bubble is a cordoned off area for players and staff in a team to protect them from being infected with COVID-19. With months of playing franchise and international cricket in the bubble, players have often complained about fatigue and Bumrah reiterated the same.
"Absolutely you need a break sometimes. You miss your family. You have been on the road for six months. So all of that sometimes play on the back of your mind but when you are on the field, you dont think about all of those things. You dont control a lot of things. All the scheduling goes on or what, what tournament is played when. So obviously staying in a bubble and staying away from your family for such a long period of time does play a role on players' minds as well," Jasprit Bumrah said in the virtual post-match press conference on Sunday.
"But BCCI has also tried their best to make us feel comfortable. This is the time in which we are living right now. It's a difficult time. There is a pandemic going on. We try to adapt but sometimes bubble fatigue, mental fatigue also creeps in and you are doing the same thing again and again. It is what it is and you can't control a lot of it here," he added.
Set a modest target of 111 to win the Group 2 fixture, Kiwi opener Daryl Mitchell top-scored in a comfortable chase, hitting a quickfire 49 as his side chased it down with 33 balls to spare. The result means that India will need other games to go their way if they are to reach the semi-finals.
Bumrah also explained what kind of discussion went with the batters on providing cushion to the bowlers.
"We realise once you lose the toss, the wicket changes in the second innings. So obviously I felt that we wanted to give cushion and it was the discussion (with batters) that we want to give cushion to the bowlers.
We went attacking a little early and the longer boundary actually came into the play. They used the slower balls well, they used the wicket quite well to their advantage and they made it difficult for our batters to play big shots. And the singles were not on the offer so they went for higher risk shots," he explained.
