Psychologists have called for more help for cricketers’ emotional well-being as they reach the second year of bio-secure “bubbles” around the world.

Cricket’s long tours away from home and family have always caused issues in the past, but limitations of quarantine and bubble life pose extra difficulties, experts claim.

Jonny Bairstow of England said he spent only six nights at home in the second half of last year, while Waqar Younis, a Pakistani bowling coach, saw his family in January for the first time in seven months.

After deciding to stay in quarantine with his teammates in Australia in November, Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj missed his father’s funeral.

Sports psychologists and psychiatrists, particularly in Asian nations, have warned of the toll being taken on players and said there is a “stigma” about coming forward.

Amit Anand, a psychiatrist consultant and a member of the European Golf Tour council, quoted a former Australian national captain as saying that mental health issues had reached “almost epidemic proportions” among players.

“England, Australia and New Zealand have structured mental health support; their respective players’ associations are strong on supporting players’ mental health and wellbeing,” Hassan Mahmood, a British pyschiatrist associated with elite English cricketers, told AFP.

“It would be ideal to have this in place for all Test-playing nations. There are a significant number of Test nations in South Asia, where there might be stigma related to mental health issues.”

Anand said that players may have problems ranging from lack of sleep and anxiety to depression, while their families are also struggling, particularly those with young children.

He said that better “mental health literacy” is required among players to “address the issues related to stigma and provide approximate interventions”

England’s Batsman Bairstow said that the players had been “addicted” to the Call of Duty war game, as he pointed out the pressures while in Sri Lanka.

“I am not going to lie about it, it is something that does take a toll because you are going from the hotel to the cricket ground, back to the hotel,” Bairstow said.

“Unfortunately the guys are unable to see their families, their kids, wives, girlfriends, over a long periods of time, which is tricky.”

“The Skype chats, the people who have been with you through thick and thin back home are the ones that the you call up and chat to and keep you going,” he added.

Last year, Cricket Australia took the lead in recruiting a mental health specialist and several top nations followed, including England, who brought a psychologist to Sri Lanka and India on their current tour.

India’s leading sports psychologist Shree Advani, who has advised stars like PV Sindhu, the top badminton player, and cricketer Robin Uthappa, said that due to the pandemic, more players are coming forward.

“So many cricketers come to me for advice,” he said, adding that players struggle “to get back with that same level of confidence. With the insecurity about selection, the extra pressure to perform”

England skipper Joe Root urged his teammates not to “not hide away if they are feeling (the) blues” before they left for Sri Lanka and India, the start of a long year for the team that will be playing 17 Tests in 2021.

Mahmood said any psychological fallout from bubble life, would come in for extreme scrutiny, once the crisis has passed.

“Hopefully, once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, there will be a period of reflection to ascertain the full impact of the bio secure bubbles on the mental health of cricketers,” he added.