In this Downtime Diaries, Hanuma Vihari talks about life in seclusion in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic
On March 17 I was raising my bat after I made a double-century for Nelson Cricket Club against Alwarpet in a first-division club match of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. I had just returned from the New Zealand tour. With no domestic cricket left for me and no IPL contract this time, I wanted to keep myself active, so I played for Nelson.
The club was struggling and were at the bottom of the points table, and the game against Alwarpet was a relegation battle. So it was nice to score the double-hundred and help Nelson keep their place in the first division.
But all that is a distant memory now.
A few days into this enforced break because of the pandemic, I have begun to realise all the implications: I cannot go out, meet friends or do anything, pretty much. But that is the need of the hour - you have to isolate yourself and make sure things settle down.
The break has allowed a family get-together of sorts. My sister has joined me, my wife Preethi, and my mom.
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I have been tempted to indulge in some home-cooked food, and I will admit I have cheated just a little, eating a few more dosas than I would normally. So more carbs, yeah, but then I have enough time to work out and burn the extra calories.
I know boredom will set in easily, but I have a solution for that: watching the 2005 Ashes on video. It is my favourite. I have lost count of how many times I have watched it.
Also, I have been planning on taking up yoga. It's something I have thought of doing for a year, in fact.
One good thing that will come out of this break is: I will able to celebrate my first wedding anniversary with my wife on May 19. In normal circumstances I might have been busy with cricket. So at least one person is not complaining too much!
Mentally I am trying hard to keep myself positive and busy. My challenge is: there is no cricket for the next three to four months. I do have a summer to look forward to having signed with a team in the English County Championship, where my contract starts from late August. Fingers crossed about that. I am going to use this time to focus on my fitness, sharpen my skills for county cricket as well as for the Australia tour in late 2020.
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