Chakabva recounts Covid-19 ordeal

Sport
AFTER being kept on the sidelines for over six months due to the effects of Covid-19 on international sport, the last thing Zimbabwe cricket star Regis Chakabva needed was another spell away from the game he loves due to the contagious disease.

AFTER being kept on the sidelines for over six months due to the effects of Covid-19 on international sport, the last thing Zimbabwe cricket star Regis Chakabva needed was another spell away from the game he loves due to the contagious disease.

BY DANIEL NHAKANISO

Sadly, that’s exactly what happened to the 33-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman together with national teammate Timycen Maruma who both tested positive for Covid-19 in the bio-secure bubble at the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy House last month ahead of the tour of Pakistan.

The pair were both part of the provisional 25-man squad picked to travel to Pakistan, but were left out of the 20-man party following the positive tests, but have since recovered and are expected to begin training ahead of the start of the country’s domestic cricket season.

Two members of staff who were providing support services at the academy also returned positive results, but have since recovered.

In an interview with StandardSport last week, Chakabva discussed his symptoms and how he felt while battling against the virus.

Unlike others who have experienced severe symptoms after testing positive, Chakabva said he only exhibited mild signs and initially thought he had a cold, only to discover a couple of days later that he has tested positive.

“Actually I never really had any serious issues, just a slight headache and body pain early when I caught it and I just thought maybe I was getting a cold.

Then two days later I was back to my normal, only to get the results back saying I had tested positive,” Chakabva said.

“After the positive test, I had to isolate and all but was feeling pretty good actually.”

Now on the mend, Chakabva says he is grateful for the support he received from everyone around him especially his family, who kept him strong.

“Everyone was pretty supportive, so many people texted and called and kept checking up on me. More importantly though the family in particular was great and supportive as always. It’s never easy being in isolation and I’m just glad to be able to spend more time with my wife and son again, it’s always great.”

After the recent setback, Chakabva is looking forward to returning back to action ahead of the start of the country’s domestic cricket season as he seeks to reclaim his place in the national team.

“Yeah, I’m very eager to get back to competitive cricket, I was unfortunate to miss out the last few games of the NPL because had to self-isolate… but now back and looking forward to first-class cricket when it starts and getting some good scores there and push to get back into the Chevrons side,” he said.