Picture Credit: Twitter
New Zealand cricketer Tim Seifert recalled the scary experience he had in India during IPL 2021 when he tested positive for COVID-19. The KKR player was the only overseas player who had contracted the deadly virus and as a result, he had to stay back in the country with all the overseas players leaving. As he was playing only his first IPL in India, the 26-year-old broke down in tears why recalling the most difficult phase of his life. Having stayed back two weeks in Chennai, Seifert opened up on his battle with COVID-19 during a virtual interview from Auckland, where he is serving his mandatory quarantine period.
The world kind of stops a little bit: Seifert
Seifert revealed that his heart sank right away when he showed early symptoms of the virus. Reflecting on the time when the CSK manager showed him the positive report, he said, "The world kind of stops a little bit. I just couldn’t really think what was next. And that was the scary part of it. You hear about the bad things, and I thought that was going to happen to me."
The wicketkeeper-batsman admitted that it was quite difficult for him to stay back in India with all the other overseas players leaving the country. "That was kind of when it sunk in when everyone left and I was the only overseas player left in India, that's when it got real for me," he said. However, he added that the thought of him getting married in two months calmed him down and helped him look at the positives.
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Seifert thanked McCullum and Fleming for helping him out
The 26-year-old was expectedly scared as he was playing IPL in India for the first time ever. Seifert revealed he felt quite comfortable talking to New Zealand legends Brendon McCullum (KKR coach) and Stephen Fleming (CSK coach) about the whole situation. The Kiwi cricketer thanked the duo for their making everything a lot easier for him with their help and support.
"Making sure things would be put in place and the KKR, the CSK support staff, management, CEO of KKR, they made life easy for me to know that everything would be alright and when that time was to come home, they would do everything to get me home safely and on time," stated Seifert.
While the last part of IPL 2021 was indeed very challenging for Seifert, he revealed that the bubble felt quite good and safe overall before the outbreak. With the cricketer finally back home and about to end his quarantine, he can now look forward to happily start the wedding preparations with his fiance.