Shreyas Iyer is the captain of DC. (Source: Delhi Capitals)Shreyas Iyer, captain of Delhi Capitals, penned down an elaborate letter from the UAE where he talked about his journey and experience of life in the bio-secure bubble.
Iyer began his letter by recollecting the quarantine period and wrote, “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 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,” Iyer was quoted as saying to Delhi Capitals website.
“Only to be back in less than 10 minutes, with watery eyes! But 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.”
He then went on to talk about the excitement of returning to the 22 yards and the session with head coach Ricky Ponting. Praising Ponting, Iyer revealed that the message is simple– to go easy but not lazy, slow and steady, have short but sharp sessions.
Shreyas Iyer before a practice session. (Delhi Capitals)
“It wasn’t easy to get into the groove, to be honest. And the humidity made things worse. But I’d pick this over the hotel’s air-conditioning any day. Two sessions in, I started finding my rhythm back, slowly but surely.
“You could see the intensity in the nets and the outfield. The batters tonked the ball all over the park, the fast bowlers steamed in, the spinners got their trick deliveries out. It would be safe to say it was a case of ‘Absence makes the heart fonder’ for ALL of us. All this time away from the game only made us realise just how much we love it.
“When we finally got the go-ahead for our very first training session of the season, the excitement was palpable. Ricky was still in quarantine, which means his opening talk of the season was going to be over a Zoom call. “Go easy, not lazy,” he told us, “Slow and steady, short and sharp sessions to start with. And more intense as we go along.”
It’s amazing how much energy he manages to put into us even from across a computer screen,” he concluded.