Emotional Blackcaps wicketkeeer Tim Seifert has broken down in tears, as he revealed his personal struggle dealing with a positive COVID-19 test in India.
Seifert was part of the Kiwi contingent contesting the Indian Premier League, which was cut short due to concerns around player health and safety.
Several players - including Seifert, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders - tested positive during the final week of the tournament, and the 26-year-old had to remain in India, while his countrymen travelled home or to England to join the NZ test squad.
Seifert spent two weeks in a private hospital in Chennai, where he was given the all-clear to return home last week, after recovering from his symptoms.
Speaking from a managed isolation facility in Auckland, Seifert describes the situation in India as stressful, with thousands dying every day, due to overrun medical facilities.
"Your world kinda stops a little bit and I couldn't really think what was next," he says. "That was the scary part, because you hear about the bad things that happen around it and I thought that was going to happen to me.
"Being in India, you turn on the TV and they are reporting that there is a lack of oxygen - which is very sad - but I was lucky I just had mild symptoms and didn't go through any of that.
"You only ever hear about the bad things from watching the media and talking to people. There is that real negative side to it, but there are also a lot of people that have got over it and talking to those people, they assured me I would be okay - that helped."
Seifert credits KKR coach Brendon McCullum and former NZ captain Stephen Fleming for supporting him during the first few days of his diagnosis.
KKR also provided Seifert with an assurance that they would transport him back to New Zealand safely once he recovered and made sure he was given top-class medical help in Chennai.
After several days, Seifert realised his symptoms were mild, which eased his concerns, and he was able to get through his isolation stint without any further concerns.
"It was tough, but you have to kind of look at the positives that hopefully you will only be there for two weeks.
"My symptoms weren't that bad and I was feeling healthy. I was energetic, I could get out of bed - it was just being stuck in a room by myself that was a tough bit.
"There were plans in place that if anything did go wrong, I was happy with the situation and plans that would go ahead for me."
But despite a horrifying couple of weeks, Seofert says he would be comfortable going back to India to play cricket.
The wicket-keeper batsman says he felt safe while in a bubble within his IPL team, and it's still a mystery as to how the virus broke through.
Having suffered through a mild case of the virus, it's more the isolation that has Seifert questioning if he would want to do it all over again.
"Hopefully the vaccines do their thing and it isn't so bad and hopefully people don't get as infected as much in the future.
"Personally, I'm happy going back because the worst case scenario has happened. It's the back-to-back quarantines, with a little stop in Doha - it's a quarantine situation of 25 days for me that has been hard to deal with.
"It is a grind doing 14 days back home, but at least in New Zealand we can get outside for a few hours a day and the food at this hotel has been great, which is an important thing in quarantine, because your days kinda revolve around your food schedule."
But cricket will take a back seat to personal life when Seifert is released from quarantine in a little over a week.
"I'm getting married in two months, so my fiance is happy I am back early to help plan that. You have to look at the positives and move forward."
