Far too much cricket- New Indian Express

One of the hardest things during a raging pandemic is peak sports. Air travel, border issues, quarantine, isolation, special rules … teams must keep an eye on all of the above when practicing and performing at an acceptable level. Mental strain cannot be measured. Some sports and / or countries, instead of putting all their athletes in a bubble life, have tried to place them in an environment called controlled life. Even if their freedoms are not perfect, they are allowed to do many things that are open to the wider society. However, controlled life is just a euphemism. When Covid enters the area, it can quickly have a domino effect. This freedom can quickly evaporate into another endless cycle of testing, quarantine, isolation, etc. This is what the Indian team feared when writing the letter, emphasizing their reluctance to play in the fifth test in Manchester. BCCI had a contractual obligation to play it, but when the players felt the same way, it didn’t. Fortunately, both governments agreed and common sense won. But this is a great opportunity for all member governments and the International Criminal Court to rethink the global calendar. There is way too much cricket in the show. Take, for example, the Indian team. They have already completed two months of quarantine since the start of cricket, but are already in another tough quarantine before the IPL, a cash cow that is partly responsible for a calendar that is increasingly sustainable.

It’s not just the IPL, but other T20 leagues that have asked for a little too much from players in an already unforgivable environment. This madness will transcend for the next two months. In addition to numerous bilateral tours, there will be a second IPL edition in 2022 and one T20 World Cup next year. While Dawid Malan, the No. 1 men’s T20 batter today, and a few others have turned their backs on the IPL, most cricketers can’t afford to do so. If we don’t listen to the bodies of cricketers, there may soon be a time when they’re all tired and there’s not much left of their game left. The only way to prevent another cricket from walking out is to make sure the system protects players well. Currently, the system fails in them.