The deadly disease Covid-19, commonly known as Coronavirus, has made people’s blood run cold. All major events belonging to various fields around the world have either been cancelled or postponed. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it a pandemic.
Recently, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to call off England’s tour to Sri Lanka. The English team was supposed to play two-match Test series starting from March 19 in Galle, but due to the Coronavirus threat, ECB postponed the Lanka tour and brought back its players and staff members to England.
Now, England’s captain Joe Root backed the decision of his board, stating the physical and mental well-being of the players and support staff was paramount.
“Things have happened quite quickly for us in terms of the decision being made. You could tell yesterday by the performance and chat around the dressing room that guys weren’t fully focused on what we were doing, and I support the decision to postpone the series,” Root told SkySports.
Root expressed that the discussions regarding Covid-19 in the change room started to overshadow the cricket.
“Naturally, there was a lot of talk in the dressing room, and it got to a stage where it overshadowed the cricket. Looking at how quickly things have happened at home, you’re thinking about family and friends who might be a bit more vulnerable, and that’s hard when you’re a long way away,” he added.
The England captain also revealed that the deadly disease started affecting the mental well-being of players as well.
“It was clear it was getting in the way of performance and affecting the mental well-being of the guys,” Root added further.
