“But at the end of the day, I’m not being ungrateful, I’m grateful that we’re still playing, we’re still doing our job”
“I think it’s taking a toll on myself,” Russell told Geo News from Abu Dhabi, where the rest of the PSL is scheduled to be played. “I can’t talk for any other player, or coaches or anyone that goes through this whole quarantine stuff. But it’s definitely taken a toll on me mentally because from bubble to bubble, in a room locked in, you can’t go out for a walk, you can’t go certain places, you can’t socialise, it’s different.
“But at the end of the day, I’m not being ungrateful, I’m grateful that we’re still playing, we’re still doing our job. So it’s tough for us. But even though we prepared for it, it still takes a toll.”
Russell said he tries to utilise the time and space in hotel rooms during quarantine by doing a variety of exercises.
“So for me, I like to have a bike or something in my room so that I can get my heart rate up,” he said. “I would utilise the space that I have, go on the floor, do some of some push-ups. For some exercise, I use stuff in the room to just get something done.”
“I have played in hot conditions before. But I was in competition, playing games, having proper net sessions and back and forth, getting used to the condition and fully acclimatised,” Russell said. “However, in this case, it’s going to be a bit different where we are in quarantine and then we just gonna get out and have a few practice sessions and then go straight into the games.
“The night won’t be as bad as the day games but if it’s a day game, we just have to be up for the challenge. We are professionals, so we have to condition our minds to deal with the heat and the weather.”
Known for his brutal power-hitting, Russell also said a batter with a proper technique can also provide great value in T20s with a different set of skills.
“The more power you have as a batter, the more fear you bring into the bowler,” he said. “But for a guy with a proper batting technique, he can pick the gaps, he can score boundaries whenever he wants, then it still adds up.”
“It was tough for me. It was definitely an era that I wish I could just be careful and just get it done at that time. But, the past is the past, it’s already happened, it definitely opened my eyes to reality and life,” he said.