Delhi Capitals' skipper Shreyas Iyer has penned a letter to the fans from the UAE, where he talked about his time away from the game and the bio-secure bubble.
A lot is resting on the young shoulders of Shreyas Iyer, who at the age of 25 is expected to lead Delhi Capitals to their maiden Indian Premier League title triumph. The Mumbai batsman has already started training with his squad inside the bio-secure bubble as we edge closer to the beginning of IPL 2020 in UAE from September 19.
In the days leading to DC’s season opener – against Kings XI Punjab in Dubai on September 20 – Shreyas has found a unique way to engage with the fans by penning open letters on Delhi Capitals’ official website.
In his first letter addressed to the fans, the Indian middle-order batsman gave an insight on how the players feel inside the bubble while following rigorous safety protocol that includes being isolated in the room while appearing for mandatory COVID-19 tests on a regular basis.
Shreyas revealed that waiting for a day after giving the test leads to anxiety similar to that of a student waiting for his board examination results.
“We’ve had a few tests ever since we landed, and frankly, everyone’s used to it now. Our team manager keeps telling us that waiting for the test results to come in the following morning are always anxiety-filled, much like waiting for Board examination results,” Shreyas wrote in ‘Letters from Dubai’.
While the flamboyant batsman expressed his happiness on the resumption of training in Dubai, he also revealed how he spent his days during the mandatory seven-day isolation period upon arrival to the Gulf nation.
Shreyas said he minimised social contacting to next to zero during the period while finding solace in Netflix and room workout inside his hotel room.
“I can’t tell you how much I waited for the day of our first training session. Before that, we were locked in our rooms for a week. I kept myself occupied with room workouts, as Rajini, our S&C (strength and conditioning) Coach monitored me over a video call. In the evenings, I turned to Netflix.
“The only couple of times I stepped out was when I had to get my mandatory COVID19 tests done. And believe me, it was enough of an occasion for me to spritz on some perfume before stepping out of my room. Only to be back in less than 10 minutes, with watery eyes!” he recalled.
