The God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar, who has been making the most of his retirement time, was unfortunately affected with COVID-19 on 27th March. However, he soon recovered from the novel coronavirus, and in a recent interview with a reputed new channel, he opened up about the struggles he faced while being infected to COVID-19 and referred to the period as a “difficult match.”
Sachin Tendulkar tested positive for the coronavirus on the 27th of March and on the 2nd of April, he announced the news on Twitter and also stated that “As an abundant precautionary measure and on medical advice, I will be in the hospital for a few days.”
He further hailed medical staff for taking constant care of him while he was hospitalized and said that one can win the battle against COVID-19 only if there is a team effort just like in a cricket match. He mentioned, “In a cricket match, even if a bowler is bowling a good spell, the batsman still has to get on the pitch and play against him. But without the support of his team, he can not go out there and perform well”.
In the same way, I had to thank doctors, nurses, para-medical staff, my wife, family, and friends for taking care of me and providing me with the much-required moral support.
While talking about the first few days, the former Indian cricketer mentioned that “Even before knowing that I was diagnosed with COVID-19, I was feeling restless, my body wasn’t supporting me and I fell ill. Owing to the already worse situation outside, I didn’t want to take chances. So, I isolated myself immediately and awaited my test results. The results came out positive, but I felt that self-isolating before was the best decision I took as that prevented my family from contracting the virus.”
After getting admitted to the hospital, Sachin’s health was monitored and after observing him for a week, doctors advised him to go home but isolated himself from the rest. Talking about this experience, “Staying in isolation for 21 long days was quite difficult for me. But, that’s the only way we can protect everyone from the spread. But for me, this period while not seeing and talking to anyone was a difficult match I had to play,” he said. When asked about his post COVID life, Sachin explained that “Such unexpected changes and experiences make us change as a person.”
Summing up the experience, Sachin accepted this period will be difficult for everyone, both emotionally and physically. But he believes that with the right precautions, measures, and care, we can come out of it. “I learnt a lot from the experience and emerged as a changed person by winning the difficult match” he added.