Ongoing break a 'welcome rest' for India players: Coach Ravi Shastri

New Delhi: Sport coming to a standstill owing to 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 leaving for the World Cup last May.

As with other sports across the world, cricket has also been affected with all international and domestic fixtures being called off due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

"This (rest) cannot be a bad thing because 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.

He was speaking to former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain and Rob Key on a Sky Sports podcast.

According to Shastri, the players may use the time to re-energise themselves, especially after a gruelling New Zealand tour where India played five T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.

"The amount of cricket we have played over the last ten 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, especially being on the field, adjusting from T20s to Test match cricket and all the travel that goes with that because we travelled quite a lot," Shastri said.

After the World Cup, the Indian team travelled to the West Indies, then played a long home series against South Africa that was followed by a full tour of New Zealand.

"So it has been tough but a welcome rest for players," the coach said.