Bubble life is unsettling, lots of small things get into your mind: Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock will be a happy man. It was under his leadership that South Africa pummeled Sri Lanka in both the Tests to whitewash the visitors. Both the Test matches did not last even 5 days, as De Kock and his men gave a sound thrashing to the Islanders.

However, the South African skipper has had a long ‘bubble life’ by now. De Kock was a part of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he spent more than one and half months inside the bubble in the UAE. After that series, De Kock was a part of the South African T20I squad where the Proteas played three T20I games versus England. Next up were the two Tests against Sri Lanka.

Now, his bubble life will continue when South Africa travels to Pakistan to play two Tests and three ODIs. The South African skipper has termed that cricketers are not still fully used to the bubble life. The left-hander also admitted that there were a lot of nerves as far as the bubble life is concerned. He also added that the length of the tours increases due to the quarantine period and also added that the bubble life has been unsettling.

“There are a lot of nerves when it comes to the bubble, lots of small things get into your mind, things that you’re not used to. Bubbles just make tours longer because of the quarantine period. You stay in your room for a certain amount of time. You get out when we are declared safe. It’s very unsettling. I don’t know how long it can last,” he said in a virtual conference.

It is a new challenge: Quinton de Kock

After the Pakistan tour, South Africa is next slated to face Australia in a three-match Test series at home. The skipper added that he still feels excited to play the sport, but added that it was really a challenge as well. He, in fact, termed the lockdown as the ‘hardest’ challenge.

“I’m excited to get there and play cricket. It’s a new challenge. But the rest of it, the off-the-field stuff, is another sort of challenge. The lockdown is going to be the hardest challenge that we’re going to have,” added the SA skipper.

Meanwhile, Head Coach Mark Boucher added that the team does not leave the hotel a lot when they tour the subcontinent. He also added that the bubble life is a learning process and mental strength would be crucial for the players to get through the bubble life.

“We go to the sub-continent quite a bit and you don’t leave your hotel a lot. We’re used to it. We’ll keep learning from bubble life and what we have to do to try and make life easier for the players. The longer it gets in these bubbles, the more mental strength the players have to have,” concluded Boucher.