“It becomes a mental strain on the players” – Mohammad Rizwan on the perils of playing in a bio-bubble 

Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan spoke about the mental strain that the constant bio-bubbles are putting the players under. He feels the players could use a break ahead of the crucial T20 World Cup in the UAE.

The team’s vice-captain in the longest format noted how the players have been involved in action non-stop. Pakistan has toured New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, West Indies, and England twice since cricket’s resumption following the onset of the pandemic.

Speaking during a virtual session ahead of the second Test against West Indies, Rizwan said:

“It is not easy remaining in the bio-bubble all the time and we have been playing a lot of cricket in the last one year and more. It is good for us but at the same time it becomes a mental strain on the players as well,”

Pakistan’s team management are reportedly considering resting Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan next month.

While the dates of the fixtures are yet to be released, it is believed that the new Taliban governance will give the green light for the men’s cricket team to compete.

Our main focus now is to level this series: Mohammad Rizwan

Pakistan missed out on the chance to go 1-0 up in the series against West Indies after a narrow 1-wicket loss. Rizwan hopes the team bounces back strongly in the next Test to add points to the WTC table. He added:

“The bottom line is we lost the Test after coming so close to winning it and it hit us and we are now looking to bounce back strongly in the second Test. “I think it is also important to look at players who make small but game changing contributions in a match. We need such impact players.”

“Our main focus now is to level this series by winning the second game and getting equal points from it.”

Pakistan will host New Zealand and England for a slew of limited-overs series ahead of the T20 World Cup, where they will face arch-rivals India first on October 24 in Dubai.