'Yeah, it’s the right call' - Eoin Morgan backs Ben Stokes' decision to take break from cricket

Ahead of the five-match Test series against India, Ben Stokes decided to take an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health. The England all-rounder pulled out from the series citing the reasons of mental fatigue and also to take enough time to recover from his finger injury. England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan has thus supported the decision of Stokes to take the break from the game.

Morgan, who is currently featuring as the captain of the London Spirits in the ongoing The Hundred tournament, asserted that Stokes’ is a right call. He also pointed the friendly environment of the team in supporting the decisions of the players. Amidst the uncertain times, the players have to be in strict bio-secure bubbles and Morgan believes that taking some time off from cricket for spending some time with family is needed.

“Yeah, it’s the right call. I think, for the last two years the team has always been listening to the players and support staff. They have needed time at home or away from the game with their family. And I think it shows a really good environment when someone can come forward and be listened to like that. So, it’s good that players are getting the time as they need it,” Morgan told ESPNcricinfo.

Several players have endorsed Ben Stokes’ decision

After Ben Stokes announced that he wouldn’t be a part of the Test series against India, the talks about the mental health of players yet again started taking rounds. Many players around the cricketing fraternity came forward to lend their support to Stokes’ call. Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sreevats Goswami are amongst some of them.

For the last two years, many cricketers have opted to take a break from cricket stating mental health issues. Will Pucovski and Glenn Maxwell had taken such a call before the Covid-19. But now with the challenges that the quarantine periods and bio-secure environments are posing on the players, one is witnessing more players doing so. Recently in the IPL as well players pulled out of the tournament citing bubble fatigue reasons.