The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli asserts that cricketers will go through a high-stress environment during the bio-secure “bubble” life due to the coronavirus pandemic for the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kohli, one of the game’s most disciplined captains, raised his concerns after the Indian team registered a thrilling 2-1 ODI series win over England on Sunday. He reckons that the players will again have to go through restrictions again in the IPL “bubble”.

Describing the same, Virat Kohli said, “Scheduling needs to be looked at in future, because playing in ‘bubbles’ for so long, two to three months, is going to be very, very difficult going forward. You can’t expect everyone to be at the same level of mental strength. Sometimes you do get cooked and you do feel like a bit of a change. But a different tournament brings fresh challenges heading into the IPL.”

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Most international players had no option other than to stay inside bio-secure “bubbles” since August, with only small breaks. From September until January, the Indian cricketers went through similar quarantine and isolation regimes in the delayed 2020 IPL in the UAE followed by their  Australia tour. Ahead of the full-fledged home series against England they had a break to a weak.

England players including Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (both Rajasthan Royals), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and Sunday’s batting hero Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) are staying on to join the IPL.

Buttler said he was “excited” to take part in the tournament as he said, “It’s been great that everyone’s health has been really looked after and whenever it’s possible to get out of the ‘bubble’ and back in. So we are all very thankful for that to help with those situations and also it’s about how we plan to move forward. That’s going to be part of player welfare.”

England, who have already played six Tests in 2021, has a pretty pact calendar ahead and is scheduled to play another 12 Tests by January 2022, five at home against India, two against New Zealand, and five away Ashes Tests in Australia.

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They will also have limited-overs series at home against Sri Lanka and Pakistan before coming back to India for the T20 World Cup later this year in October.