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SPORTS OCTOBER 01, 2021 | The Indian Eye 46
end of Cricket as we Know it?
pakistan, postponement, mental Health Crisis,
and overkill of Cricket
Cricket’s time has come. What we all feared for has finally happened.
en Stokes has been the most prom-
he fifth Test between India and En- inent casualty to the mental health
gland was cancelled/postponed hours
Tbefore the toss due to COVID-19. Bcrisis. Personal tragedy, finger inju-
New Zealand similarly pulled out of Pa- ry, recalled back to captain a COVID hit
kistan on the basis of security threats. En- squad, IPL, The Hundred, Test matches.
Stokes is 30, a prime of a sportsperson ca-
gland have followed suit and cancelled their reer. However due to the intense nature of
Men’s/Women’s tour of Pakistan in Octo- the cricket calendar, he has withdrawn from
ber as well. There has been more cancella- the India Test series, IPL, World T20, and
tion than actual cricket recently.
The international cricket structure is possibly the Ashes.
dismantling before our eyes—overkill of England have done their very best to
cricket, the IPL takeover, an acute mental preserve the physical and mental health
of players irrespective of the controversial
health crisis, and Pakistan’s abandonment rest/rotation policy. Even with such man-
on the world stage. BRoKEN CRICKEt dREAMs agement and resources, Jofra Archer, Chris
scheduling woes And NITESH MATHUR Woakes, & Mark Wood have been out
for extended periods of time, while Ban-
the overkill of Cricket www.brokencricketdreams.com ton-Bairstow-Buttler have pulled out of the
ince the return from COVID-induced IPL & other T20 leagues.
The Ashes begins on December 8th,
break, scheduling has slowly escalat- week after the T20 World Cup has ended? shortly after the T20 World Cup. England’s
Sed. Overkill of cricket has reached its Beats me. team selection will give us an idea of how
boiling point.
Last summer, West Indies, Ireland, and IPL 2020 in UAE was a joy to watch. severe the mental crisis is.
Pakistan toured England in cricket’s return. After months, the best players of the world security threats - Is there western
IPL 2020 in UAE followed soon after. The played cricket had gathered together with-
out any interruptions. The balanced pitches
entire world had eyes on one series or tourna- in Abu Dhabi & Dubai were conducive to Bias Against Pakistan?
ment at a time with enough gap in between. fast bowling while Sharjah provided us the inally a non-COVID related threat.
However, post-vaccination, internation-
al scheduling has been torturous. stereotypical high scores. New Zealand pulled out of the Pa-
England began its tour to Sri Lanka However, September 2020, March 2021, Fkistan series minutes before the first
earlier this year and stayed for the India September 2021, and March 2022...This match on tour citing credible security threat
series. Soon after, IPL 2021’s first iteration seems to be developing into an unhealthy against the New Zealand team without
pattern. Add to two IPLs a year. a ten-
sharing information with Pakistan.
took place. Then India went to England for team IPL with a big auction next year. 74 Pakistan was forced to make UAE their
months. England launched the Hundred in IPL matches will push India’s home series home for a decade after the horrifying 2009
the middle of the summer.
When the Hundred ended, the CPL be- against South Africa into June. Another shootings amidst the Sri Lanka series. In-
gan. Four days after the CPL, the IPL began. T20 World Cup is to follow next October. dia-Pakistan relations had already taken a
With Trinbago Knight Riders, Saint Lu-
The IPL final will be held on October 15th. cia Kings, and Barbados Royals all having hit a year earlier due to the Mumbai at-
tacks. A year later, the spot-fixing crisis
The much awaited T20 World Cup begins IPL stake owners, the IPL takeover of the feat Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif,
just two days later, on the 17th of October. world is complete. and Salman Butt further took down Paki-
But wait, there’s more. stan cricket.
Regardless of the outside noise, Paki-
IPL All year Round? Mental health Crisis stan managed to win a T20 Cricket World
At An All-time high
of both India and New Zealand, it is likely A Cup, Champions Trophy, and #1 Test rank-
ndia begin their home season on Novem-
ings in the next decade. The Misbah-You-
ber 17th three days after the World T20
byproduct of back-to-back cricket,
nis era slowly got Pakistan’s reputation
bubble-to-bubble travel, and IPL-
IFinal. And in Jaipur. Given the depth
to-IPL jam packed into the inter-
they will field a second-string team. Why is national calendar is recurring injuries, early back as a respected cricketing nation. The
PCB established a decent stable Pakistan
there a need for a T20I series less than a retirements, and mental health breaks.
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