‘Mental fatigue’ a load on bowlers, says Team India bowling coach Morne Morkel

India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has urged everyone to keep in mind the taxing schedule and the mental fatigue arising from it while criticising the bowlers’ performance.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of the fifth and final T20I, Morkel said: “I’ve got a lot of respect for these guys, with the performances that they are at the moment producing for Team India, with the schedule we have.

“You know, and that’s why I sometimes think we can allow them to make a mistake and allow them to have an off game and not be on them, because of the mental load and expectation on these players.”

While world champions India were expected to dominate the West Indies, the Caribbean side has given the hosts a run for their money. The series is locked at 2-2 and Saturday’s game in Bengaluru will decide the winner.

The Indian cricketers had a busy schedule in the past couple of months, playing in a slew of bilateral series and also the Asian Games in Japan.

“One thing that we sometimes forget is that mental fatigue plays a big part. We have to manage that and you have to be smart with it. If you look at this T20 side, some of the players went for the Asian Games, and then went straight into a full series now (vs WI).

“Then they had to fly off to Delhi for a presentation there (meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and back here in the morning. And, now, we have to get them ready for a game. So, that is the reality and these guys are also human,” he explained.