The cricket fans viewing schedule are crammed so much that we no longer feel the anticipation to watch a match. Instead the schedules are stacked up and it is a battle to keep up with it as it is moving too fast. Think about the players, imagine if the entire world is connected by roads then players are literally performing road shows.
The workload of players are insane. The workload of players playing all three formats are like a bubble that is floating in slow motion and the player sat inside is watching the world outside in awe as it sails through. We fans see the very same bubble travelling in hundreds of miles per hour. All blame the pandemic for turning everything on its head by throwing spanner in the works. Is this the real reason?
If we rewind back to pre-pandemic era (which is literally few years back) to Team India stats: In 2017 13 test matches, 52 ODIs and 13 T20s were played. In 2018, 63 international across all formats. The forecast for 2019-23 is to play 158 internationals. Please note, this is excluding IPL tourney. It is clearly evident from the stats, the schedule was very tight. The players knew upfront the break period which would have helped psychologically. There was no room for err and in the eyes of outside world, it was working seamless. The pandemic forced the err and it stretched the fabric of the game almost to the extent creating few holes (bubble break).
The beginning of the second phase of IPL 2021 was the culmination point where the players started to feel incapacitated. Some players exited the tourney and others adjusting it by carefully playing only where possible. In my opinion, Virat Kohli's news to step down as T20 captain is something that came few years late and the timing of this announcement before T20 world cup may bring negative aura if it is not managed carefully. The leader of the pack in any profession is seen to be pure until the point any change to the leadership aspect unfold. I hope Team India does not get carried away by the transformation process losing focus on the upcoming T20 World cup.
The burnout of players from all around the world is high. We (fans) hope the energy and excitement of the prestigious world cup is not taken way by not playing key players (injury etc) and the world cup just portray like another franchise based tourney.
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