India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that had the IPL 2021 was not suspended, he would have taken a break from the tournament midway after he learnt that his parents had contracted the virus.
The IPL 2021 had to be postponed indefinitely due to multiple COVID-19 cases in the team’s bio-bubbles with four players, two coaches, and multiple support staff members returning COVID positive results.
In an interview with Sports Tak, the 30-year-old Chahal said that he was not able to concentrate on his game once he heard the news of his parents testing Covid-19 positive.
"I was planning to take a break from the IPL when I heard the news of my parents getting infected. It was difficult to focus on the game while your parents were alone at home. They tested positive on May 3, and a couple of days later, the tournament got postponed," said Chahal.
Chahal's mother has recovered from the virus, but his father's condition deteriorated, and he was admitted to a hospital in Gurgaon.
"My father's oxygen level dropped to 85-86, and we had to shift him to the hospital. He had returned home yesterday, but his results are still positive. However, the good thing is that his oxygen level is around 95-96, which is quite a sigh of relief for us. It will take him another 7-10 days to recover," he said.
Chahal revealed that the players got the hint of the cancellation of the IPL once the virus has breached several bio-bubbles.
"When positive reports started coming from more than one team, we got the hint that the tournament might get suspended. It escalated quickly and went out of the hand," Chahal recollected.
(Sports Tak inputs)
