South African captain Quinton de Kock has questioned the sustainability of ‘bubble’ life at the age of Covid-19 as he considers an upcoming trip to Pakistan – another series in which players will likely be limited to cricket grounds and their hotel rooms. Speaking at a keynote press conference to review South Africa’s test series win against Sri Lanka, De Kock analyzed comments he made during the post-match presentation after the post-match. second Test on Tuesday when he said he had mixed feelings around Pakistan because of the difficulties of being in a biosecurity environment.
“There’s a lot of nerves when it comes to bubbles, a lot of little things get in your mind, things you’re not used to,” he told reporters later.
“Bubbles just make longer rounds because of the quarantine time. You stay in your room for a certain amount of time. You’ll find out when our call is made safe. It’s awful. No I know how long it can last. “
De Kock’s concerns were similar to those of Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who said his players would face a mental strength test while going from one ‘bubble’ to another, flying home from South Africa but enters quarantine just ahead of a series against England starting on 14 January.
“It’s very difficult to stay in a bubble for a long time,” he said.
South African players will have a week at home before leaving for Pakistan on January 15. The first of two trials will start in Karachi on January 26.
De Kock said he expected there to be only a short break between the Pakistan tour and a home series scheduled against Australia in February and March.
“We may only be home for about two weeks in the next three months, and that is a challenge,” he said.
The series against Sri Lanka was De Kock’s second experience of life alone in a home series after England’s white ball tour in November and December.
Prior to that he had played in the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, where players were also restricted to hotels and cricket grounds.
South Africa have not toured Pakistan since the 2007-08 season, with stops on trips to the country following a 2009 attack on a Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
But head coach Mark Boucher said Covid’s precaution and the high level of security expected of the trip would not make it very different from other tours in Asian countries.
“We go to the subcontinent for the most part and you don’t leave much in your hotel. We’re used to it,” said Boucher, who went on three tours around Pakistan as a player.
But Boucher said he had sympathy for players in the current unnatural conditions in which international cricket is played.
“We will continue to learn from bubble life and what we need to do to try and make life easier for the players,” he said.
“The longer he gets in those bubbles, the more mental strength the players will have.”
De Kock said: “I’m really excited to get there and play cricket. It’s a new challenge. But the rest of it, the stuff outside the pitch, is another challenge. shutting down is the hardest challenge that we are going to have. “
Inspired
The Sri Lankan series was the first De Kock as a Test captain. “We won the league and we won it very convincingly but I don’t think we played our best cricket,” he said.
“We put ourselves under unnecessary pressure several times.”
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