The ongoing T20I series against South Africa is the first one for the India players without a bio-secure bubble environment following the covid pandemic. After the third match on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam, Ruturaj Gaikwad spoke about the differences between the two phases, saying that team bonding had increased during bubble life, and that players were now adjusting to the increased attention and distractions of a normal existence. “Being in a bubble was tough for a longer period of time,” Gaikwad said. “But one good thing I felt was that the team bonding increased, in whichever team I played for, be it an IPL (Indian Premier League) team or for the Indian team. There were a lot of team activities together. That has really helped and that will stay for the coming years as well. “Coming out of the bubble, there are a lot of fans in this country, and a lot of people are gathering near you. And this is the first series (without the bubble) so everyone is taking time to adjust to it,” Gaikwad added. “Because everywhere we go we are used to enclosed environments (in a bubble). People are not coming towards you and there is distance from them. So coming out of that, a lot of fans coming closer to you, asking a lot of stuff, a lot of pictures and all that, so there is a lot of attention, and a lot of distraction as well. So both being in and out of the bubble have pros and cons. I’d say it is better to experience both.” The pre and post-match press conferences are also being conducted in person at venues for the South Africa series, instead of online during the bubble period, and Gaikwad joked about how questions could no longer be avoided. “Coming out of the bubble, one big difference is this press conference,” Gaikwad said. “Having it on the digital screen, you can say I cannot hear anything or there is a slight network issue and you can ignore the question, but you can’t ignore the question here.”
