CSK batting coach Michael Hussey
Recalling his experience of contracting the coronavirus in the now-suspended fourteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings batting coach Michael Hussey has said that his initial test came up as a 'weak positive' before he returned positive in the retest.
Hussey was among the multiple COVID-19 cases in the bio-bubble before the lucrative T20 league was shelved indefinitely earlier this month. Hussey and CSK bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji had contracted the virus and were flown to Chennai from Delhi in an air ambulance.
"I wasn’t thinking about (getting home) too much to start with. I was focusing on just trying to get better again, really. My initial test came up as a weak positive, and we were sort of hoping the next would be negative and it’d be alright, but unfortunately, I got retested the next day and that came back positive,” Hussey told Fox Sports.
Hussey said that he had already started feeling some of the symptoms of the virus. The ex-Aussie batsman also remembered sitting next to Balaji on the team bus, increasing the chances of him being diagnosed with COVID-19.
“To be honest, I had already started feeling some of the symptoms and so I was thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure I’ve got it’. Plus, I was sitting next to the bowling coach on the bus a few times, so I thought, ‘If he’s got it then there’s a pretty good chance, I’ve got it as well’.
"There was a risk there. It (also) could have been at the ground; there was ground staff while we were there training and on game day. There was certainly more risk once we left that Mumbai bubble," he added.
Hussey was finally cleared to fly back home in Australia after his COVID-19 test came out negative last week.
"We were a bit nervous obviously with flights being cancelled left, right and centre. But thankfully it all went quite smoothly and it’s good to be back.
"Even once we arrived in Sydney, the police and the staff at the airport were all really friendly and made you feel as comfortable as they could because it’s obviously not the nicest experience," Hussey added,
