International Journal of Sport, Exercise and Health Research 2021; 5(2): 40-41 DOI:10.31254/sportmed.5202

Short Communication

Impact of bio-bubble on the mental health of elite cricketers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The bio-bubble fatigue

Naveen Bansal¹ , Shervin Sheriff²

Naveen Bansal,Shervin Sheriff

1. VCSG Government Institute of Medical Science and Research, Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India
2. Team Doctor, Indian Men’s National Football Team ; Sports Medicine Physician, State Institute of Sports Medicine, Calicut Medical College, Kozhikode, India

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 22nd May, 2021 / Accepted: 22nd June, 2021

Abstract

Ever since the resumption of cricket during COVID-19 pandemic, players and support staff have to stay in an isolated environment during the tournaments to prevent the risk of contracting COVID-19 from the external environment. This can have an adverse effect on the mental health of the players as they have to spend a lot of alone time, which can lead to introspection and rumination consisting of constant negative feelings. The authors evaluated media reports published between 1st July, 2020 and 31st May, 2021, on players withdrawing from a tournament midway or players who pulled out of an entire tournament citing bio-bubble fatigue (mental fatigue due to the bio-bubble environment) and found eight such cases. Mental fatigue builds in a cumulative manner, and therefore, more players are likely to suffer from bio-bubble fatigue during the next couple of months if this issue is not addressed. The authors recommend that every team must have a sports medicine physician/ sports psychologist at all times during the tournaments to make sure that the players remain mentally fit during this phase of COVID-19 pandemic.