Mentor for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), VVS Laxman, doesn't think lack of crowds will affect the quality of play in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE, starting September 19.
The sixty-game tournament being played within the COVID-19 pandemic till November 10 is likely to see no fan-presence in the stands and that is feared to also make it feel less of a spectacle to those watching.
But Laxman believes the intensity of the players involved for all eight teams will ensure there is nothing left to be desired at least as far as the on-field play is concerned.
“I can assure all the fans of the game that they will really enjoy the competition even though there won’t be any crowd or any spectators on the ground," Laxman said in a video released by the Sunrisers.
“Don’t ever think that the energy or the quality of cricket will come down.”
The only thing the ever calm Laxman seemed wary of is the need for quick adjustment to the slowish decks in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
“Probably the wickets may be on the slower side but we have to just wait and see because we may just be surprised with the efforts put in by the ground staff."
“The outfield will be fantastic but the wickets are something that I hope will be well taken care of by the ground staff.”
The former India batsman said the Sunrisers were determined at the auction last year to boost their middle-order Indian batting options and hence, they went and picked the likes of Priyam Garg, Virat Singh and B Sandeep.
“In the auction, it was a very intentional effort to have the youngsters. While they are youngsters, they are all the most prolific performers in domestic cricket," said Laxman.
“When you see the composition of our team, we had a lot of experienced players from both overseas and India."
“But when we look at the domestic players, we (were) required to strengthen our batting, especially our middle-order batting. So we went with the performer in the last couple of seasons."
Despite sneaking through to the play-offs last season, Sunrisers perhaps realised the need to bring in a fresh perspective to their coaching group.
The team worked on that instinct and roped in Trevor Bayliss in replacement of previous head coach Tom Moody. Brad Haddin, the former Australian wicketkeeper batsman, replaced Simon Helmot as the assistant coach.
“Trevor is one of the most successful coaches in world cricket; England won the World Cup for the first time under his coaching,” Laxman said.
"I have always admired him and all the interactions I have had with him have been excellent – I learnt something with every interaction. He is cool and calm and also has the temperament of handling the best of teams and the best of players."
“Brad Haddin is a hardcore competitor. He will definitely give 100 per cent or probably more than 100 per cent as the assistant coach," he concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
