Having not yet won a match in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Team India have come under plenty of criticism lately. Fans and pundits have lashed out at Virat Kohli and the team management for a variety of reasons, ranging from strategy to player selection after India’s Super 12 defeat to New Zealand on Sunday. Kane Williamson’s side sealed an easy eight-wicket victory. Meanwhile, India were also hammered by Pakistan in their campaign opener, losing by 10 wickets. The results have reduced the team’s hopes of progressing to the semifinals but Kohli and his men received support from former England captain Kevin Pietersen.
The former cricketer asked everyone to not treat the players like “robots” as “they need support at all times”.
Taking to Twitter, Pietersen wrote, “There is a winner and a loser in the game. No player goes out to lose. It is the greatest honor to represent your country. Please realize that the people in the game are not robots and they need support at all times.”
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) November 1, 2021
Pietersen’s tweet comes after Jasprit Bumrah blamed “bubble fatigue, mental fatigue” for India’s recent results. After India’s loss against New Zealand, the pacer was asked if players were fatigued after the IPL season which concluded a week before the T20 World Cup.
He said, “Absolutely, sometimes you need a break. You miss your family. You’ve been on the road for six months.”
“So, all of that sometimes play on the back of your mind. But when you’re on the field, you don’t think of all those things .. Obviously staying in a bubble and staying away from your family for such a long period of time does play a role.”
“The BCCI also tried their best to make us feel comfortable .. It’s a difficult time. There’s a pandemic going on, so we try to adapt but sometimes bubble fatigue, mental fatigue also creeps in”, he added.
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Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, most of the cricketers in the current Indian team have been living in bio-secure bubbles which included IPL 2020, IPL 2021, India’s tour of Australia and England etc.
For their upcoming matches, India face Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia and will be aiming to seal wins. Kohli and Ravi Shastri will be relying a lot on New Zealand’s result against Afghanistan on Sunday for progression into the semifinals.
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