‘Foreign cricketers give up on mental health in pandemic’

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket chief Sourav Ganguly has stoked the debate on the pressures of bio-secure bubble cricket by saying Indian players are better at handling mental health than foreign stars.

The former national team captain said that many England, Australia and West Indies cricketers “just give up on mental health.”

The comments could cause controversy after many players, including India captain Virat Kohli, highlighted the struggles top players are facing in continually being restricted to staying within hotels and stadiums.

Ganguly’s comments come ahead the start of the Indian Premier League on Friday which will see international players spending up to eight weeks in a bio-secure environment for the world’s richest Twenty20 tournament.

“I feel we Indians are a bit more tolerant than overseas (cricketers)”, Ganguly told a promotional event late Tuesday, while acknowledging the pressures all players endure.

“I’ve played with a lot of Englishmen, Australians, West Indians, they just give up on mental health,” he added.