'A lot of players have gone through hard times mentally' - Rohit Sharma comes out in Virat Kohli's support

After COVID-19 brought the world as well as sports to a standstill in 2020, all players across the globe were forced to adjust to strict bio-bubbles and also keep themselves quarantined during home matches or overseas tours. This has really been mentally taxing for the players and there have been many of them who have taken a break for their mental safety and well-being.

Recently, Virat Kohli stated how tough it was for him mentally post COVID-19 taking the strict protocols into consideration, and now, India skipper Rohit Sharma has also seconded the batting megastar’s opinion and explained how things have been mentally tough for him. Giving further explanation on the same, Rohit also mentioned how post-pandemic, the hotels have turned out to be elite jails.

We do talk about these things a lot: Rohit Sharma

“We do talk about these things a lot. Of late, when Covid-19 struck, this has been difficult for a lot of players not just Virat himself,” Rohit told the media ahead of the Pakistan clash. “A lot of players have gone through hard times mentally, staying in bubbles, not being able to go out of hotels and there is nothing wrong in it,” the skipper added.

“Because how you led your life until then was completely different because you had to stay in bubble and inside hotel for two months, quarantine. Every player had way of responding to that and there is nothing wrong. If players have his view on that (mental health), we talk about that in our group and what they talk about being mentally fresh and how we can keep them fresh. Freshness is important. Mentally you need to be fresh. So mental health is important,” he further added.

Rohit Sharma had a forgettable outing against Pakistan in last year’s T20 World Cup at the same venue where he was trapped plumb in front of the wicket for a duck by Shaheen Afridi. He would now be hoping to redeem himself in the much-awaited clash.