India women's team leg-spinner Poonam Yadav is wary of the aftereffects of the long break the players have had amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Poonam said it will be difficult for cricketers to find rhythm and perform immediately on their return to the park.
The women's team hasn't played any form of competitive cricket since the end of its T20 World Cup campaign in Australia earlier this year and just had its proposed tour to England in the summer being called-off in wake of the deadly outbreak.
"If you turn up at the ground after four-five months, it will be very difficult to perform instantly for all players," Poonam told PTI. "But we are keeping ourselves fit and when we are allowed to resume group training, we should be back to full fitness in 20-25 days."
The ODI tri-series in the UK, also featuring South Africa, was worryingly India's last major series in the original schedule before the next March's 50-over World Cup in New Zealand. The fixture-list is likely to be rejigged, especially with the fate of the ICC's flagship event greatly uncertain at the moment. But if it somehow goes ahead on time, the Indian team might walk into the competition majorly underprepared.
"It is a massive challenge," said Poonam. "I have been bowling here but it is totally different in a competitive environment. We last played in March and there is still no clarity over our next series."
Life within the extended lockdown with her family in Agra has seen Poonam do different things, which she wouldn't have had the time for in normal circumstances. "There are many things I have done in this phase that otherwise, I didn't have time for," she said. "Spending time with family, watching TV (mainly Mahabharat and Ramayan)."
"I can cook now, my mother always wanted me to learn that. I had never cooked anything other than chai and Maggi but thanks to the lockdown, I can make a few more."
"The first two months of lockdown I did not do anything, but then, I was like I have to help my mother now that I have the time."
Of course, that doesn't mean there has been any compromise on her fitness. "We have to be fit, we could be called anytime to play. I have also started bowling now three times a week," she said, making do with a near-by training facility and home gym available to her, even as there is no clarity when she'll be able to train and play with her India teammates.
(Inputs from PTI)
