'Like Ben Stokes, many others can be expected to take a break' - Virat Kohli stresses on the need for periodic breaks

Highlighting the need for breaks from cricket in the Covid-19 times, Indian skipper Virat Kohli termed the team’s break post the World Test Championship a “necessary one”. The 24-man Indian contingent for the UK tour had touched down in Southampton on June 2 after a long, arduous quarantine in Mumbai.

Upon reaching Southampton, the entire team spent another 10 days in hard quarantine at the Hilton Hotel, the famed in-house facility at the Ageas Bowl, before warming up through intra-squad match-simulation in the build-up for the inaugural World Test Championship final, which India went on to lose by eight wickets against New Zealand.

Ever since then, the team members have been spending time with their family members apart from training and practicing for the upcoming five-match series that initiates the second cycle of the World Test Championship. In between, the visiting party also played a three-day warm-up fixture at Chester-le-Street, although the Indian team members got plenty of time away from their usual high-frequency and packed schedule.

Like Ben Stokes, many others can be expected to take a break: Virat Kohli

“Periodic breaks are necessary for players. Because if you don’t have players to play, the quality of cricket will not be maintained. Like Ben Stokes, many others can be expected to take a break. The break (after the WTC final) came at a right time for us,” Kohli said in a virtual presser on the eve of the Trent Bridge Test.

Notably, England all-rounder Ben Stokes cited mental health reasons and excessive time inside the bio-secure bubbles as the reason behind his decision to take an indefinite break from cricket. Kohli stressed the need of understanding these issues, while he reckoned that it would not be surprising if other players take such decisions in the future.

The sporting landscape has entirely changed ever since the global pandemic began as the players need to undergo testing spells of quarantine, which includes situations where they are not even allowed to step out of their rooms. Owing to such stringent practices, a number of players have admitted about facing difficulties over the last year and a half.