Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer has penned down a letter from UAE and talked about his journey and experience in the Gulf nation will now. In the letter, he gives details about his quarantine days and his wait to get on the field.<\/p>\n
Shreyas Iyer, who will be leading an exciting team having a mix of experience of youth, said that he used to count the number of floors of the buildings around his hotel during the isolation period. He mentioned that the smallest building has 22 floors while the longest, Burj Khalifa is having 209 floors.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I sit in my hotel room balcony with my morning coffee, I marvel at everything I see in front of me. It\u2019s the same feeling every single morning when I sit out there. I count the number of floors on each of the buildings across me. One building every day. The shortest building is about 22 floors tall. And the tallest, and the most breathtaking of them all, a modern-day wonder the Burj. 209 floors. It\u2019s mind-boggling, and surreal at the same time. Given that we\u2019re confined to our hotel and the training venue, I haven\u2019t had a chance to be in front of it. I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019d feel like Liliput! But between the unreal beauty of the Burj during the day (when the reflective glass stares at you) and night (when the shiny lights come on) is where I find MY reality. The time I spend at the ground with the Delhi Capitals team, training for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the experience of going through several Covid-19 tests, Shreyas Iyer said that he returned back in 10 minutes with watery eyes, adding that the players are now used to it. The 25-year-old said that DC\u2019s manager keeps telling that the anticipation of Covid-19 test results takes one back to the days of board examinations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t 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. Only to be back in less than 10 minutes, with watery eyes! But we\u2019ve had a few tests ever since we landed, and frankly, everyone\u2019s used to it now. Our Team Manager keeps telling us that waiting for the test results to come in the following morning is always anxiety-filled, much like waiting for Board examination results,\u201d Shreyas Iyer wrote.<\/p>\n
The last part of Iyer\u2019s article mentions his excitement and nostalgia of returning to the cricket field for proper practice sessions. He also praises head coach Ricky Ponting, who suggests them to go easy but not lazy, slow and steady, have short but sharp sessions. The Mumbai batsman says, the humidity makes it tough to practice in the middle but he would happily sacrifice the hotel\u2019s air-conditioning for it any day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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. \u201cGo easy, not lazy,\u201d he told us, \u201cSlow and steady, short and sharp sessions to start with. And more intense as we go along.\u201d It\u2019s amazing how much energy he manages to put into us even from across a computer screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sight of the green outfield, and the white picket fence at the ICC Academy, our training venue, was a sight for sore eyes. How much we\u2019d all missed this for the past few months. Kaif Bhai and Vijay Bhai had reached before us. And before we knew it, it was officially season time! I am frankly finding it hard to describe the feeling when I put my pads, gloves, and helmet on, and walked into the nets. As I heard the sweet, sweet sound of bat hitting the ball, I waited for my turn like an impatient child, full of energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy to get into the groove, to be honest. And the humidity made things worse. But I\u2019d pick this over the hotel\u2019s 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 \u2018Absence makes the heart fonder\u2019 for ALL of us. All this time away from the game only made us realize just how much we love it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are still the first few days though, and we\u2019re warming back up to the game we\u2019ve learned and loved all this while. Things will get a lot more hardcore by the time I get to gather my thoughts here again. Till then, wishing you all good health from inside the Delhi Capitals Bio-Secure Bubble, take care!\u201d Shreyas Iyer concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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