Former India cricketer Maninder Singh has expressed his thoughts after Ben Stokes withdrew from the test series against India. The English all-rounder took the decision to focus on his mental well-being and to recover from his finger injury.
The England and Wales Cricket Board released a statement to inform about Ben Stokes’ decision.
Official Statement: Ben Stokes
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 30, 2021
Maninder Singh, in an interview with News 18, was asked if MS Dhoni’s template of cutting from the cricket and media once off the field is an ideal way for the modern cricketers to deal with mental health issues. The former India cricketer replied.“See, everyone can’t be MS Dhoni since everyone has a basic nature that is different from others.”
“Dhoni has always been like that since his early days. He always said that he didn’t read newspapers or followed media which is a wonderful way to handle distractions but it is not easy to emulate that for others. When anyone tries to change his or her basic nature, it puts a lot of pressure inside your mind as well. So, it is not easy to follow the MSD way of handling pressure.,” he further added.
Staying in a bio bio-bubble for such longer durations is not easy: Maninder Singh
Maninder Singh stated that staying in a bio-bubble is taking a toll on the cricketers and we will hear a lot of them wanting to take breaks. He said,
“See, this is going to happen and lots of cricketers are going to come open on the mental health issues. Staying in a bio bio-bubble for such longer durations is not easy. In the pre-covid world, you could relax by spending time with the family and friends and relaxation is very important after a day’s play or when the game has finished, we all know that. Nowadays, during the time in the bio-bubble environment, players are not getting that time to switch off and it is going to take a toll on their minds. You will hear a lot in the coming days that they need breaks.”
Maninder Singh also took a dig at BCCI President Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly recently said that the mental health issue doesn’t affect Indian cricketers unlike cricketers from western countries.
“It’s not only the cricketers, but a lot of people are in denial mode. You can say that I started this topic in India but Virat Kohli also spoke about his struggle so there are mental health issues in India as well. People in India are quick to say arey who toh pagal ho gaya( he has gone mad) when somebody is down and he is talking about his struggle. But, I am sure a lot of cricketers are seeking and taking help from someone or other,” said Maninder Singh.
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