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Injured Australian opener David Warner recently rejoined the team's bio-bubble, after getting a month away from it for his rehabilitation. He admitted that, though the injury was not ideal, he did get a chance to prepare for the tough road ahead. He was quoted as saying in The Sydney Morning Herald:
"We know what we are facing. We have been in the bubble, we know what we are going to get so it's not new to any of us who have been inside these bubbles."
"I wouldn't say fortunate enough that I got injured, but I was always going to have that time off as well. A lot of us got that option, to take that rest or not and we knew that was going to upset a fair few people coming from the IPL and missing the first couple of the games here."
"But, at the end of the day, when you are given those opportunities, in my own situation with three kids and my wife, having not seen them, it was a no-brainer to have that time off."
Cricketers have spoken out about how a bio-bubble environment can be detrimental to a player's mental health. The potential bio-bubble breach by some members of the Indian Test team shows the difficulty players face in staying away from normal lifestyles in a high-pressure environment.
England captain Joe Root has also said that players can opt-out of upcoming tours if they need a mental health break, and cannot sustain in a bio-bubble environment.
Australia’s stay in the bio-bubble gets longer
Things are only going to get tougher for the Indian and Australian cricketers as they head to Sydney, where rising cases of COVID-19 have been reported. Cricket Australia will be under extreme pressure to ensure that the bio-bubble environment is not tampered with, having made the decision to go ahead with the Test under extremely challenging circumstances.
It will be a difficult year for Australia off the field. Following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they will be back in the bio-bubble to face South Africa during a three-Test tour. A limited-overs series is being planned in New Zealand as well, for February. Towards the end of the year, there will be the T20 World Cup in India, and the World Test championship in London in June, if they qualify.
Warner admitted that Australian players are aware what they are getting into. He said:
"At the end of this, we get a couple of weeks off before the next series if you are not playing BBL. Then from there it is back in the bubble, for how long we don't know. If a vaccine comes, if we are allowed to have that vaccine, there are a lot of things up in the air. As I said, we know what we are facing.”
Vice-captain Pat Cummins added that players are finding it difficult in the bio-bubble because of the isolated lifestyle. He said:
"We'll look after everyone as best we can but the priorities are getting through this series really safely and everyone is desperate to play these last two Tests, so whatever it takes.”
India and Australia will lock horns in the New Year Test at Sydney from January 7 followed by the final Test at Brisbane from January 15.
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