While Pakistan's two-week quarantine in New Zealand was full of controversies around positive cases and their careless breach of health security, Test opener Shan Masood said the time was still more bearable than the one they endured in stricter bubbles in England. 

All but one member of the visitors' 53-men contingent were allowed to come out of the quarantine on Tuesday (December 8) and can now move around freely in a country where life has returned closest to normalcy. 

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But in June in England, Pakistan players not only had to seclude for 14 days but also stay within the bio-bubble for the rest of their tour. 

On the Kiwi shores, the visiting team would've also enjoyed a training exemption had they not broken the health regulations at their hotel and there weren't as many as eight of their players contracting the dangerous virus.

Masood said staying in their hotel rooms did take a lot of mental toll on Pakistan players but they were always aware the life will be much easier once they finish the quarantine. 

"We collectively accepted this challenge," he said in an online video conference on Thursday (December 10), as quoted by AP. "Spending 14 days to yourself, never leaving the room, is not easy, but it’s upon the individual to look at everything from a positive slant."

"What helped was knowing that unlike England, there’s no bio-secure bubble once we got out of quarantine. So we could live like normal people, and enjoy our life outside of cricket. It was a challenge, but now we’re looking ahead."

"We used to talk to each other on video call a lot. We had a little bit of time in fresh air. We just tried to encourage each other to bide the time. The reward we get is not only do we get to play cricket, we also get a normal life away from cricket, and get to roam around freely."

Masood also said he doesn't think the limited training time before the first of three T20Is on December 18 and then the two Tests from December 26 will result in too much rustiness within the players. 

"What you do for years doesn’t disappear in 14 days as a cricketer," he said. "There is of course a bit of rustiness … we’re professionals and have been playing cricket since the England tour. These two weeks might be a blessing in disguise, in that players might get the extra little bit of rest."