In an interview with Indian Express, India’s Sania Mirza expressed her helplessness at being stuck in her home country while her husband, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, remains back in Sialkot (Pakistan).

When the coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed she had just come back from the US to Hyderabad with her son Izhaan. Shoaib meanwhile was playing in the PSL when a similar restriction was put in place in Pakistan.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the couple, who are now stranded in different countries. Explaining the situation, Sania said:

Sania Mirza also went on to say that Shoaib is needed back home because of his mother, who is 65 and needs his care.

Survival, not tennis, on Sania Mirza’s mind

Sania Mirza had made a successful return to the tennis courts at the start of this year, winning the doubles title in Hobart with partner Nadiia Kichenok. But with a toddler and aged parents of her own at home, she isn’t thinking about the game right now, but of coming out of this global crisis unscathed.

At the same time, the former No. 1 doubles player does worry about the athletes outside the top echelons, who have been left in the lurch due to the suspension of sports.

Sania’s concerns go beyond the sporting realm. She said she can’t stop thinking about the plight of migrant workers currently undertaking difficult journeys across the length and breadth of the country to return home.

Sania Mirza was the heartbreaking image of a child sleeping on a suitcase as her mother took him home, and like many others was extremely moved by it. She has been doing charity work over the last few weeks to help the underprivileged tide over the crisis.

Being pragmatic amidst anxiety

While anixety has hit the six-time Grand Slam winner, she remains pragmatic, and believes it is too risky for tennis to return in the current situation. Sania Mirza had actually traveled to the US to play in a tournament, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Her priority right now is reuniting with her husband and for her son Izhaan to be in the physical presence of his father again. According to Sania Mirza, “no amount of video calls’’ can replicate that.

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