Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Trevor Bayliss has called for some warm-up games before the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to bring back the players to the “match-playing conditions” after the Coronavirus-forced break.
Most of the cricketers including Indian players haven’t played any form of cricket since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bayliss wants some warm-up games like “intra-squad” matches to check who’s where before playing in the IPL 2020 starting on September 19.
England's 2019 World Cup-winning coach is currently in Dubai where the SRH camp is training for the IPL 13 which will be held across the three bio-secure venues Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
Bayliss told Sportstar: “Certainly, we would like to have as many warm-up matches as possible to get the boys back to the match-playing conditions. Batting and bowling in the nets are a lot different to batting or bowling in the middle. Most teams will have a couple of inter-squad matches, so everything will be fair for everyone. We would like to play more matches. But it is what is, so we will get on with it.”
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, players are restricted to stay and train inside the bio bubble and the SRH stressed the importance to make sure the players are mentally fit in such situations.
He further explained his bio-bubble experience, “This is something new for all of us. We may not get everything exactly right in this bubble and (with) the new way of doing things. It’s about learning on the go and one of the main things is that it is a long tournament, but we are here for a month beforehand.
It will be a long time, it’s just as much about being in form and physically fit, it will be also important to keep the boys mentally fit. That means not necessarily practicing every day. It will be a case of having a rest period as well, to keep the boys nice and fresh.”
Recalling his past stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders, Bayliss said he was lucky to win the two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 with the franchise while saying both KKR and SRH are very similar in their philosophy and are truly family-oriented teams and hopes to have similar success with Hyderabad.
The 57-year-old further added, “I was lucky to have had two wins with KKR. They (KKR) and Sunrisers are very similar to the fact that both are very family-oriented teams. The experience has been great; I learned a lot as well and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Obviously, this is a new time and I hope I have the same success with SRH.”
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Bayliss has also made it clear that he would not tweak things too much in the upcoming tournament, saying: “Sunrisers have done well over the last 4-5 years, so they must have been doing a lot (of things) right and leading into the IPL this year, I don’t think we have to change a real lot, but it will be about using the experience of (VVS) Laxman, (Muttiah) Murali and Brad Haddin, who is the assistant coach.’”
He signed off by saying, “We need to make the most of the experience that we have got in the team. People like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Warner, and Williamson have a lot of experience in international cricket and it’s about using those experiences and passing them on to the younger players in the squad.”
