The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will most likely remove the bio-bubble from the T20 series for the upcoming five games against South Africa.
According to the PTI report, the BCCI wants to get rid of the bio-bubble, and this consideration is being made to safeguard the mental health of the cricketers. Previously, bio-bubbles were a part of cricket players in almost all series (home and away) and were played in a strictly bio-secure environment due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If all goes well and things remain in control like it is right now, there will be no bio-bubbles and hard quarantine during the home series against South Africa. Then we are going to Ireland and England and there won't be any bio-bubble in those countries too,” said the senior BCCI official.
The T20 series is scheduled to be held between June 9 and 19 and will be played at five venues. Among them in Delhi, Cuttack, Vizag, Rajkot, and Bengaluru. The players and officials are currently still involved in the IPL 2022 which ends on May 29. The BCCI does not want the players to move to other confined spaces and have to quarantine after the league season ends.
Players' mental health
As is well known, currently in the UK and Ireland there are no bio-bubbles for any sporting activity. The board is aware that the bubble life for a long time can seriously affect the mental health of the players.
“Some players have got periodic breaks but if you look at the bigger picture, living in a bio-bubble one series after another and now two months of IPL is simply exhausting for the players,” BCCI said.
That's why the Indian team is expected to have a free environment in their country. The players will play one Test and six white-ball games over a period of three weeks. However, during this period, the players will of course be tested regularly to ensure that there is not a single positive case in the group.
An effective management program is currently being prepared so that all Indian cricket stars including captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, senior hitter Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, spinner Ravindra Jadeja get enough rest before they fly to England.
“There are five T20 Internationals between June 9 to 19 in five cities. Obviously, all the players won’t be playing all the games. Some might be given total rest and some might play a few games. If these guys aren’t given systemic breaks, it will only harm them. But obviously, the duration of break will be decided by selectors after talking to head coach (Rahul Dravid),” the source added.
Pandemic effect
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on cricket events and England and the West Indies. They were the first team in June 2020 to play cricket in a tight bio-bubble environment. They are undergoing strict solitary measures and quarantines. Due to the pandemic, BCCI has also had to postpone many homes and away cricket matches.
Even IPL 2020 was held in the UAE with a tight bio-bubble and took place in three places. Meanwhile, the first half of IPL 2021 which is taking place in India, was messed up by the COVID-19 breach in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic. As a result, the remaining matches of the tournament had to be played in the UAE, once again.
However, as the pandemic subsides thanks to vaccinations, the BCCI decided to allow IPL 2022 to be held again in India. The league takes place in four locations and the playoffs later in two locations.
Spectators are permitted to watch in the stadium live even though one of the teams, the Delhi Capitals, was massively hit by the COVID outbreak inside their roster lately.
