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Team India captain Virat Kohli has asserted that the long gap between the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the England series will give the players an opportunity to refresh themselves.
Some cricket pundits, including former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar, have questioned the extended gap between the WTC final and the India-England Test series. While the WTC final is slated to end on June 22, the first India-England Test is scheduled to begin on August 4.
However, according to Virat Kohli, the major gap should work to India’s advantage as they would get enough time to regather themselves ahead of the England Tests. At a virtual press conference ahead of India’s departure for the UK, Virat Kohli said:
"I feel like after you are done with WTC, I think it is a great opportunity to refresh and restructure, hopefully, if things are okay, just for the guys to be normal and disconnect again, to understand that we have the pressure of a five-match series. Like in Australia, if we had to contest in a bubble for that long period, it would have been tough."
Kohli plans to use the time to refresh and reset the players in the team.
"Just the fact that we had the freedom to go out and access the kind of things there, it gave us space to refresh and reset. I think it is absolutely fine, it will give us time to refresh and prepare for a long series. That kind of setup is important before you go to a lengthy series. The challenge in England can be daunting, so we want to have the time before that series," Virat Kohli added.
Players can ask for a break if they are not feeling okay: Virat Kohli
Mental health of players has become a massive topic of debate in the wake of the pandemic, with players constantly forced to live in bio-bubbles. Things will not get any easier for the Indian players as they have an extremely tight schedule starting with the England tour.
After the end of the five-match Test series against England, the players will feature in the second half of the IPL followed by the T20 World Cup. Admitting that mental health is a serious issue, Virat Kohli stated:
"To be very honest, for a long period of time, it is very difficult for the players to stay motivated and find the right kind of mental space, being just confined in one area. Just doing the stuff day in and day out, and dealing with the high-pressure situations.
Kohli wants the mental health aspect of the athletes to be taken into consideration in the future.
This will definitely become a norm in the future where, apart from the workloads, mental health side of things will also come into the picture big time. Because, you don’t have an outlet at all."
Kohli is aware of the challenges posed by mental health problems.
You are literally going to the ground and coming back to your room. You do not have space to disconnect from the game and step out for a walk. This is a huge factor that should not be neglected.
Kohli wants players to take enough breaks if they do not feel up to the mark.
As much hard work, we have done to create this team, you do not want players falling out because of not being able to have that capacity. You have to keep the channel open, we have done that and players can say that they need a break if they are not feeling okay," Virat Kohli added.
After arriving in the UK on June 3, the Virat Kohli-led Indian team will proceed to the on-site hotel at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton. They will be placed in managed isolation, and regular COVID-19 tests will be conducted during this period.
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