The forced break of sporting activities following the Covid-19 pandemic is a “welcome rest” for India cricketers, feels head coach Ravi Shastri, who has spent barely 10-11 days at home since the World Cup last May.

As with other sports, cricket has been affected with all international and domestic fixtures being called off.

“(This rest) cannot be a bad thing... towards the end of the New Zealand tour, you could see some cracks coming up when it came to mental fatigue, physical fitness and injuries,” Shastri said. Talking to Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Rob Key on a Sky Sports podcast, he said it was a good time for the players to re-energise themselves, especially after a long New Zealand tour.

“The amount of cricket we have played over the last 10 months, that was beginning to take its toll. Guys like me, and some other guys from the support staff, we left India on May 23 for the World Cup in England. Since then we have been at home for 10 or 11 days. There are certain players who played all three formats, so you can imagine the toll it has taken on them,” Shastri said.

After the World Cup, India travelled to the West Indies, then played a long home series against South Africa, followed by a full tour of New Zealand. “So it has been tough but a welcome rest for players,” the coach said.

India are currently in a 21-day lockdown and according to Shastri, his players knew something like this was imminent when the series against South Africa was called off.