IPL 2020: AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Chris Morris Join RCB Squad in UAE
South African trio of AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Chris Morris joined the squad of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Dubai on Saturday.
New Delhi, Aug 22: South African trio of AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Chris Morris joined the squad of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Dubai on Saturday.
Taking to Twitter RCB wrote, "And here it is RCB fans, the moment you've all been waiting for! Star-struck @ABdeVilliers17, @DaleSteyn62 and @Tipo_Morris have joined the team in Dubai! #PlayBold #TravelDay #IPL2020."
RCB's squad, majorly Indian players, reached Dubai on Friday ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, slated to begin on September 19. The franchise will now start a 3-week camp with Indian and International Players in collaboration with Mike Hesson and Simon Katich from August 29 onwards.
"I am very excited. I am very happy to be here, the travelling was a bit different to normal but we made it here with South African friends. We are very happy to be back in the RCB family, looking forward to this year. Looking forward to settle, pack the bags out and get the fuel for what we are in for this year. Excited to meet the new players," de Villiers said in a video posted by RCB on Twitter.
Initially scheduled to start in March, the 2020 edition of the IPL was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the 13th edition of the IPL will be played from September 19 to November 10, across three venues in the UAE -- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.
The franchise on Thursday confirmed that they are taking a contingent of 40 people with them to the UAE.
Among these 40, 21 are players, 14 are part of the staff including coaches and physiotherapists. The remaining five are net bowlers, namely Aman Kumar (Haryana), Chetan Sakariya (Saurashtra), Pravin Dubey (Karnataka), Aditya Thakare (Vidharbha), and Sushant Mishra (U19 bowler).
RCB had said the team will be undergoing six-day isolation and three COVID-19 testings before entering a bio bubble.
"From a safety perspective, the RCB team has put together very stringent guidelines which are in adherence to the health and safety protocols issued by BCCI. This is to ensure the highest levels of safety for the players and staff. These guidelines include testing for Covid-19 at three levels and an advance quarantine of Indian players before they take off for Dubai. The team in Dubai will be undergoing 6-day isolation and 3 COVID-19 testings again before entering a bio bubble," RCB had said.
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