'Couldn't run 20 or 30 metres without my heart rate going high' - Heinrich Klaasen on his COVID-19 trauma

Heinrich Klaasen will be leading the South African team for the first time when they will take on Pakistan in the three-match T20I series in Lahore. Ahead of the series, Klaasen shared his experience of battling with COVID-19. The South African player was tested positive with the deadly virus on December 3. 

The right-handed batsman talked about his struggles during the phase when he was sick. The virus has already killed a massive number of people in the world. However, some might think that the virus affects the person who is old and not fit. However, Klaasen’s words have clarified the doubts and explained that it can also have really harmful effects on someone who is young. 

The first 16 or 17 days I couldn’t really do much: Heinrich Klaasen

The stand-in captain of the Proteas team revealed that he wasn’t able to exercise properly during the illness. He explained that his heartbeat would naturally go up once he had done a run for 20 or 30 meters.

“It was a difficult two months. The first 16 or 17 days I couldn’t really do much. I was very ill. The problem came with the fact that I couldn’t start exercising. Or I could start exercising again, but I couldn’t run 20 or 30 metres, or do anything for two or three minutes without my heart rate going up too high,”  Klaasen told an online press conference in Lahore as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Klaasen further revealed that he faced too much difficulty in sitting at home through his illness. He said that there was nothing that he could do. “It took me a long time to just get my heart rate under control so that I could exercise at least a little bit without getting past the phase where it is too dangerous. It was mentally very difficult to just have to sit at home for two months. I could do nothing,” Klaasen added. 

South Africa will be playing the three-match T20I series from February 11. The second and third match of the series would be played on February 13 and 14 respectively. Recently, the Proteas team went down to Pakistan in the Test series by 0-2.