‘My heart bleeds’ – Matthew Hayden pens down an emotional note for India amidst the COVID-19 second wave

Matthew Hayden, the former Australian cricketer, has penned down an emotional note for India amidst the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns are getting in place again and the death tolls in the country are increasing at an alarming rate. However, with the vaccination drive in place, the people can afford to breathe a sigh of relief, if not a whole lot.

Hayden, who played for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, was heartbroken to see the developments around him. Having travelled to India over the last decade, Hayden called the Asian country his ‘spiritual home’. The left-hander also expressed his gratitude towards the people of India for showering him with love and affection.

Matthew Hayden puts forth his opinions

“I have been visiting India for over a decade now and have travelled all over the country, especially Tamil Nadu which I consider my “spiritual home”. I have always had the highest respect for the leaders and public officials who are entrusted with the task of running such a diverse and vast country,” Hayden wrote in his post.

“Wherever I went, the people greeted me with love and affection, for which I remain in their debt. I can proudly claim that I have seen India up close over the years and that is why my heart bleeds to see it not only in agony at the moment, but also for the bad press that has been hurled at it by those who I am not sure spend any time here to understand India, its people and their myriad challenges.”

The situation has become grave to the extent that even the 2021 Indian Premier League had to be postponed. 29 matches took place after which a series of COVID-19 cases emerged in the camps of the participating teams. The Kolkata Knight Riders were the most affected with four of their players testing positive for the ungodly virus.

The country is reporting over three lakh cases on a daily basis as per reports, 3883 people lost their lives on Friday, May 14. A number of cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Brett Lee among others donated to India’s fight against the coronavirus.

Extracts from a heartfelt blog on India by @HaydosTweets A cricketer whose heart is even bigger than his towering physical stature. Thank you for the empathy and your affection… pic.twitter.com/h671mKYJkG

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 14, 2021