‘Indians better in dealing with mental health issues’

New Delhi, April 6

Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said that Indians are “more tolerant” in dealing with mental health issues than cricketers from countries such as England and Australia, in the context of playing cricket in a bio-secure environment.

After international cricket resumed after a hiatus, the players have been forced to stay in bio-bubbles, where life is restricted to hotels and stadiums. They are isolated from their families for months on end, and access to people outside the bubble is impossible. Due to this, players find it hard to stay fresh and motivated.

“I feel we Indians are a bit more tolerant than overseas (cricketers). I’ve played with a lot of Englishmen, Australians, West Indians, they just give up on mental health,” Ganguly said. “In the last six-seven months, with so much cricket being going on in the bio-bubble it’s so tough. Just going from the hotel room to the ground, handle the pressure and come back to the room and then get back to the ground again, it’s an absolutely different life.”

Ganguly cited the example of the Australian team, which pulled out of their tour to South Africa following their defeat to India at home.

“Look at the Australian team, they were supposed to go to South Africa for a Test series after India played there. They refused to go there...” he said. “And always there’s this scare of Covid-19 — ‘hope it’s not me the next time’. You have to stay positive, you have to train yourself mentally. All of us have to train ourselves mentally so that good will happen. It boils down to training.” — TNS, agencies