BCCI says no bio-bubble for India’s home series against Proteas: Report

The BCCI
will most likely eliminate bio-bubbles from the next five-match T20 series
against South Africa in order to protect cricketers’ mental health.

Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, bio-bubbles became a staple of cricketers’ lives, with
practically all series (home and away) being played in a rigorous bio-secure
atmosphere. Between June 9 and 19, the T20 series will be played in five
cities: Delhi, Cuttack, Vizag, Rajkot, and Bengaluru.

Also read: Dhawan becomes second batter to score 6000 IPL runs, joins Kohli

The IPL which
is also being played in a bio-bubble for the protection of the players and
officials, will conclude on May 29, and the BCCI does not want its players to
be transferred to another confined stay immediately following the league’s
conclusion.

A senior
BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity – “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.”

Also read: IPL 2022: Virat Kohli is ‘anxious’; he will bounce back, says former cricketers

“Then
we are going to Ireland and England and there won’t be any bio-bubble in those
countries too.” The board is aware that bubble life is not sustainable for
long period as staying confined to restricted areas can severely affect the
players’ mental health.

“Some
players have got periodic breaks but if you look at the bigger picture, living
in bio-bubble one series after another and now two months of IPL is simply exhausting
for the players,” he added.

There are
currently no bio-bubbles for any sports activity in the United Kingdom,
therefore the Indian team is likely to have a free environment in the country
where they will play one Test and six white-ball games over the course of three
weeks. It is understood, however, that the players will be tested at regular
intervals to guarantee that there are no positive cases within the squad.

An effective workload management programme is being developed to ensure that all of the stars, including skipper Rohit Sharma, senior batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, keeper Rishabh Pant, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, and spinner Ravindra Jadeja, get adequate rest before departing for the United Kingdom.