Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels for the present day cricketers who have been living in a bio-bubble for months due to the pandemic.
Ganguly, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said life in a bio-bubble was never easy.
“In the last six or seven months with so much of cricket going on in the bio-bubble, it's so tough. Just room and ground, handle the pressure on the ground, come back to the room and get back to the ground again. It's an absolutely different life.
“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 because they said their mental health is not in good state – going away from families, not being able to see the country, not being able to go out in the open and always in the scare of COVID. You have to stay positive, you have to train yourself mentally,” said Ganguly at the virtual launch of Mpower Kolkata centre on Tuesday.
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According to Ganguly, Indian athletes can handle pressure better. “You have seen in the last two or three years so many successful people, including athletes overseas, have come up and said I need mental help. I feel we Indians are a bit more tolerant than the overseas (athletes). I have played with so many Englishmen, Australians, West Indians, they just give up on mental health.”
Ganguly said sportspersons should learn to handle ups and downs.
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Talking about pressure in a sportsperson’s life, Ganguly gave an example from his own career. “I was the captain of India till 2006. Immediately from being a captain, I was dropped for three-four months. In those four months, I had a terrible time mentally. One day I was training at the Eden Gardens and I was very angry. I kept running and running and I did not know that I had finished 20 laps of the Eden Gardens. So, that's what you go through as an individual.
“It's about preparing individuals to go through tough situations,” said Ganguly.
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