Burnout is inevitable regardless of which profession you’re in. Job burnout can happen because of high stress in daily work life and it can result in loss of identity and productivity. It can also have physical consequences such as fatigue, insomnia, and heart diseases, just to name a few. Having a fully scheduled calendar is not doing any favors to the cricketers. Lately, many cricketers have opened up about their mental health which is progress considering heavy topics like mental health were completely avoided in past years.
With the t20 World Cup kicking off in only a few days all teams have started gearing up. The Proteas were found discussing their last-minute preparations in an interview where they opened up about mental health.
“Yeah, it is becoming challenging playing all three formats. You’re playing all year, with all the franchise leagues that are involved as well. Mentally, it takes a toll on you, as it does physically” admits 27-year-old Rabada on Betway Insider.
“When you combine those two together, it becomes extremely challenging. On the flip side, we get an opportunity to play a sport that we love. I like to remind myself how lucky I am” he adds.
29-year-old wicket-keeper batsman Quinton shared his solution to keeping himself mentally fresh, and how retiring from test cricket has helped him enormously. “The biggest thing since I retired from Test cricket is that there’s probably not so much pressure on my body anymore. I’m still playing loads of cricket, but T20s are easier on the body than Test matches, when you have to come back for a few long days in a row.”
The batsman announced his retirement before the birth of his first child revealing he wanted to spend more time with his family now. “For me, my body being fresh means that I stay mentally fresh. I can play for a few different teams and stay fairly relaxed. That’s the benefit of only playing white-ball cricket.”
The keeper sounded confident about his decision. Another key player David Miller also shared his opinion, “It’s just trying to make sure that we’re in the best possible shape in terms of physique, really making sure that we tick our boxes in the gym and stay fit and healthy. You want to play as much cricket as possible while you’re in good nick.”
The Protea pacer Lungi Ngidi shares his keys to staying fresh and avoiding burnout, “If you don’t switch off then your mental fatigue actually starts to hinder your performance. I’ve had that before. Just getting away from the game, and taking a walk. Sometimes just listening to music and walking down the street really does help. And mostly just chilling by myself, to be honest, because I feel any time cricketers get together, you may start the conversation however you want, but it always ends up at cricket. I try to get away from it as much as possible.”