India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah noted that bubble-fatigue is something the whole team was dealing with after their defeat against New Zealand in the men’s 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. It was India’s second defeat in the tournament which has left them on the brink of elimination. India was among the favourites coming into the tournament.
"Absolutely, you need a break," Bumrah said in the post-match press conference when he was asked about the short gap between the second leg of the IPL and the T20 World Cup.
"But this is the reality of the times we are living in, it's difficult, it's a pandemic and we are staying in bubbles. We try to adapt but bubble fatigue and mental fatigue also creeps in.
"You are doing the same thing again and again. It is the way it is, and you can't control a lot of things over here," he added.
This isn’t the first time that the schedule for India’s cricketers has been under the spotlight and the skipper himself has raised the matter earlier.
"Sometimes you miss your family after being on the road for six months. All of that sometimes plays on the back of your mind. But when you are on the field, you don't think about all of those things," Bumrah said.
"You don't control all of those things, the scheduling and all and what tournament is played when.
"Obviously, staying in a bubble and staying away from your family for such a long time does play on the players' minds. But the BCCI has also tried their best to make us feel comfortable."
And while Kohli called the break in between the Pakistan and New Zealand game useful to recharge, it did not reflect on Sunday night as India was outplayed by the Kiwis.
India have managed to take only 2 wickets in the tournament so far and both went to Bumrah. In the opening game they lost by 10 wickets.
India play Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia next in the World Cup. After the World Cup, New Zealand begin their tour of India from 17 November.
A defeat to Afghanistan, who thrive on spin, in Abu Dhabi on 3 November and India's chances of making it to the last-four will evaporate. Ravi Shastri's squad will not only be targeting a win, but also a big one in order to redress some of the NRR balance in the group. India will probably then hope for a narrow Afghanistan win over New Zealand to take the qualification down to net run rate.
The best chance for India to make it out of the group is for one of the Group 2 qualifiers, Namibia and Scotland, to pull off an upset against New Zealand. Both teams showed their class when making it through Round 1, but have yet to trouble the Test-playing nations during the Super 12 stage.
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