BENGALURU, March 29: India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli is leaving no stone unturned to gear up for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
India defeated England in the third ODI by seven runs on Sunday to clinch the three-match series 2-1. With this, the Kohli-led side ended the England series on a high as they emerged out victorious in all three formats.
Kohli, who will now be seen in action for RCB in the upcoming IPL, has already begun his preparation for the cash-rich league. The RCB skipper on Monday shared a glimpse from his workout routine.
“No rest days. From here on its all about speed #IPL,” Kohli tweeted.
Meanwhile, India limited overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, his brother Krunal Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav on Monday joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad in Mumbai.
The four players were on national duty for the ODI series against England.
The franchise posted a video of its skipper Rohit arriving in Mumbai on its official Twitter handle.
Last week, Mike Hesson, the RCB Director of Cricket has said that AB de Villiers will once again be a wicketkeeping option for the franchise in this year’s IPL.
For a few matches last year, AB de Villiers donned the wicketkeeping gloves and he is expected to do the same this year if it fixes the balance of the playing XI.
“We were delighted with the fact that Ab de Villiers loved wicketkeeping and he embraced it. He wanted to continue doing it, he is a real option, we now have a couple of other wicketkeeping options which is great. Mohammed Azharuddeen is a natural athlete with the gloves and in the field. We also have KS Bharat, he is a natural keeper, gives us different options as well,” said Hesson in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.
“We are not going to make the commitment now to you guys as to who will do what. We are really pleased with the options we have got and AB is certainly one of those,” he added.
The MI trio of Suryakumar, Krunal, and Ishan Kishan had terrific outings in India colours.
While Krunal made his ODI debut in the series, Suryakumar failed to make the playing XI in all three matches.
However, Suryakumar along with Ishan both scored match winning half-centuries in their respective T20I debuts for India.
“Firstly really happy and very proud to represent India. It was always my dream to play for the country. It feels great and I was really happy to be part of such an amazing unit,” Suryakumar said in a video posted by the franchise.
“And now, that role is over and I am back to my Mumbai Indians family. Looking ahead to unbelievable times ahead,” he added.
Delhi squad assemble
Also, members of the Delhi Capitals squad, including India star Rishabh Pant, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, all-rounder Axar Patel as well as head coach Ricky Ponting on Monday assembled at their team hotel in Mumbai ahead of the upcoming edition of the league.
The group also included West Indian batsman Shimron Hetmyer, England players Sam Billings, Chris Woakes and Tom Curran, as well as bowling coach James Hopes.
The 23-year-old Pant has been in tremendous form this year. Pant played a big role in India’s 3-1 Test series win against England, scoring 270 runs from six innings with the help of a century.
Pant also returned to India’s white-ball team against England. After a decent outing in the T20 Internationals, he was in cracking form in the ODI series, hitting 77 and 78 in the two matches he played.
Both Ashwin and Axar had an incredible outing in the recent Test series against England at home, accounting for most of the visiting wickets with their guile.
With regular skipper Shreyas Iyer ruled out of the entire IPL due to the shoulder injury he sustained against England in the limited overs series recently, these players will be required to be at the their best when the event starts.
The players will be in quarantine for one week. The franchise issued images of the players arriving at the team hotel.
The Delhi Capitals will take on Chennai Super Kings in their first match of the IPL 2021 season, at the Wankhede Stadium, on April 10.
Delhi Capitals finished as runners-up in the last edition of the IPL, losing to Mumbai Indians in the final.
Defending champions MI will take on Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament opener to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 9.
The final of the 14th edition of the tournament will be played on May 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Playoffs will also be played at the same venue. (Agencies)
