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Stokes has quit playing cricket due to his history of mental health concerns.
The first test between England and India will begin on Wednesday, August 4.
This is India’s 3rd tour to England for a Test series and their 2nd under the captaincy of Virat Kohli.
Following the example of England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has taken an indefinite leave from cricket citing mental health, Virat Kohli believes there are many more cricketers who can follow his lead.
More players in cricket’s global game would follow the England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ path unless time is made for new stars to shine, according to India captain Virat Kohli. Stokes is out of the upcoming five-Test series against India in which the team is travelling to Trent Bridge to play on Wednesday, which means he is taking an indefinite break from the game in order to focus on his mental health. The strain of playing top-level sport while combating the coronavirus pandemic is placing a significant amount of stress on him. Before the World Test Championship final versus New Zealand in Southampton in June, India had only been on the field for one tour match in the prior seven weeks.
Batting star Kohli, like international all-rounder Stokes, welcomed the chance to slow down as a member of one of the world’s most highly-prized teams. “It’s good to take a vacation because it gives you a short window to disconnect,” said Kohli on a conference call on Tuesday.
We have been functioning in a bubble for the last one-and-a-half years, and because Stokes recently stepped away from cricket, this made it really difficult for us.
Taking people away from the game for periods of time to give them rest is really essential to me.
In the present market, being a captain and managing a team can be difficult and, on top of that, players are often confined to their respective bubbles.
I believe that frequent breaks are vital for cricket and cricketers going forward because else, the quality of the sport will decline.
Like Stokes stopped training, lots of more players may in the future. The bubble existence can tyre them out.”
Was the break important to us?” Now that we’re beginning this season fresh, we can better understand everything. We enter the five-Test series with a positive outlook and believe we are ready to go.
Despite India having a losing record in England over the last 14 Tests, Kohli explained: “It’s all about wanting to play tough cricket and trying to win in environments that are not ours.”
Kohli, though, was one of numerous India players who went to England and didn’t score a Test hundred for almost two years prior to this series.
Here is what I’m saying: You can have all the experience in the world, but none of it matters. Ultimately, at the crunch times, it all comes down to execution.
Speaking of his love for the game, the 32-year-old captain, who has averaged over 52 in his 92 Test matches, said, “I’ve loved every second of it.”
I believe it’s impossible to play at this level for an extended period of time if you aren’t actively motivated to be in uncomfortable situations.
‘Scarring’
The pacemen of Kohli’s men might get as much excitement from playing in England as the assault of the hosts.
Earlier this year, the spin-friendly wickets in India worked in India’s favour during a 3-1 series win against England, whose batters were defeated time and again by India’s excellent spin bowlers.
“It depends on the batsmen as to how much scarring they have from previous injuries,” stated Kohli.
I can personally attest to the fact that we have the ability to keep the ball in play on a regular basis.
At the same time, Kohli denied having any interest in leading the series-winning India team in England solely for the purpose of it, as he had done with Kapil Dev (1986), Ajit Wadekar (1971), and Rahul Dravid (2007).
He continued, “We’ll play with the same effort, dedication, and belief that we bring to every series.”
It is much more crucial for some series to matter than others.” I don’t really believe in any of these things, because that would mean that you’re choosing things you want to do instead of accepting everything.
To be honest, in my opinion, that’s dishonest to the game.
