'Difficult to be in the bio-bubble all the time' - Mohammad Rizwan feels teams must be given break before T20 World Cup

Cricket played in the past two years has been different with bio-bubble norms and restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic has also not allowed the players to move freely in between tours and due to that mental health has become even more important. Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan says the players need a break from the rigors of the stringent environment so that they can take part with fresh energy for the T20 Cricket World Cup.

The Pakistan team is currently in West Indies and after that they are due to play Afghanistan for a three-match T20I series starting on September 1. With the players set to play back-to-back games, the pressure of constant bio-bubble is not making the players’ life easy and hence, Rizwan has said the players wanted some breather.

“It is not easy remaining in the bio-bubble all the time and, we have been playing a lot of cricket in the last one year and more. It is good for us but, at the same time, it becomes a mental strain on the players as well,” he said during a virtual session on Thursday. Pakistan management has also confirmed to rest few senior players such as Babar Azam, Rizwan, Hasan Ali, and Shaheen Shah Afridi for the ODI series against Afghanistan.

Mohammad Rizwan hoping to bounce back after a bitter loss against West Indies

Coming back to Pakistan’s performance, they lost the first Test against the home team in Kingston just by one wicket. The Men in Green could not break the 10th wicket partnership and lost a humdinger. But Rizwan is optimistic about the team bouncing back in the second Test match which is scheduled to begin from August 20.

“The bottom line is we lost the Test after coming so close to winning it and it hit us and, we are now looking to bounce back strongly in the second Test,” he said.

Rizwan concluded by saying that the team is looking for the players to step up during crunch situations and be counted. “I think it is also important to look at players who make small but game-changing contributions in a match. We need such impact players.”