Eoin Morgan: England captain warns of mental health issues in bio-secure bubbles
- Published
England played West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia this summer
England players will be free to withdraw from tours if living and playing in bio-secure bubbles is impacting their mental health, says limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan.
England games were played at bio-secure venues this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic, with players spending several weeks living in on-site hotels.
Similar measures are in place at the Indian Premier League and are expected to be needed again for future tours.
"I think it is untenable," Morgan said.
"I don't think it's possible. I actually think it's probably one of the more challenging times for anybody involved in the cricket industry."
England's men played West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia this summer with all matches played at Emirates Old Trafford or the Ageas Bowl, where the players stayed in on-site hotels.
Players were unable to leave the site until the end of the series and could not have their families staying with them.
They were tested regularly, and visiting teams had to quarantine for several days before they could move to the international venues.
They were also required to maintain social distancing rules.
England are scheduled to tour South Africa for white-ball matches next month, with tours of Sri Lanka and India to follow in early 2021.
Morgan expects players will have to pull out of international tours in the future because of the pressures.
"We've spoken about this as a team and we've accepted that guys will come in and out of the bubble as they feel it is affecting their mental health," said Morgan, speaking at a Chance to Shine event.
"I don't think people should look down on it and they shouldn't feel like people aren't doing their job or not committing to their country.
"That's a reactive way of dealing with things and we want to be at the forefront of making it acceptable for people to say, 'I need to spend time with my family now and I'm taking this tour off' just because of the extraordinary circumstances."
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