Iyer will lead Delhi Capitals in the 13th edition of Indian Premier League.
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In a letter written from the UAE, Iyer shared his experience of staying in the bio-secure bubble and how draining it was to undergo the various COVID-19 tests and drills before finally being able to get back on the field.
“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,” Iyer was quoted as saying to Delhi Capitals website.
“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’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.”
The 25-year-old admitted that it wasn’t easy to get into the groove after a lengthy hiatus, but head coach Ricky Ponting made things easy for the entire squad as his mantra was to “go easy but not lazy”.
“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.
(Inputs from The Indian Express)