CHENNAI: With the Indian Super League (ISL) on the horizon, teams have started to assemble in Goa for the event. Chennaiyin, who reached in the middle of last week, are learning to adapt while in quarantine (all teams will have to be in a two-week quarantine before the event goes ahead in a bio-bubble). “(...) it is very difficult for everyone to be quarantine. But they (players) are learning to adapt.
We have to undergo tests often. Most of the players have their own fitness equipment which we have provided and they using the quarantine time to stay fit in their rooms,’’ revealed Syed Sabir Pasha, the side’s assistance coach.
The side had originally planned to hold a camp in Chennai but they decided against in doing that. “We are already three days into quarantine. We have to be under 14 days quarantine as per the ISL rules. We are all holed up in our hotel rooms,’’ Pasha stated.
The foreign players are yet to check in. “All the Indian players are at the hotel and are undergoing quarantine. The foreign players are yet to check in. They would join us in due course. Coach Csaba Laszlo is also yet to join the team,’’ he informed.
Once Laszlo joins, the team will be put through a dedicated programme to bring them up to speed ahead of the tournament, which starts on November 21. “I think by that time (before we finish quarantine) our coach will join us. He will device a program for us to follow.” Teams all over the world have found it difficult to adapt to quarantine and it’s the same with Chennaiyin.
“Most of the teams are undergoing quarantine as per the ISL rules. It is also most like the bio bubble in cricket. We are not used to this kind of set up and it is very difficult,’’ signed off Pasha. The two-time ISL champions will be playing all their home matches at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim while they will train at the SAG ground.