Rajasthan Royals' batting coach Amol Muzumdar on Saturday (September 19) said all the players are looking forward eagerly to stepping out at the first opportunity and deliver high-quality cricket in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The batting further insisted that the players took “just a couple of practice sessions to get back into shape and find their rhythm” since they have already worked on their fitness during the 6-month break due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Presently, the RR team is currently preparing in Dubai for their first match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 22nd September.
Muzumdar told Times of India from Dubai: “They are all looking forward eagerly. For six months, they had all been sitting at home, so they were a bit rusty. But they had all been missing their cricket and therefore we're very eager to step out at the first opportunity.”
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He further added, “Physically, they had been training hard even during the lockdown and have clearly paid a lot of attention to physical fitness in the last six months. What couldn't be done was stepping out. So, practice sessions have been helping them find that space again.”
On the batting preparations for the IPL 13, the batting coach has pointed out: “That was for obvious reasons because they were a bit rusty stepping out on the field after such a long time and they needed volume under the belt. In the second week, we focused more on quality and match-preparation. We created a lot of match scenarios during these practice sessions.”
However, former cricketer admitted that the COVID-19 related challenges and protocols are huge, but there is only the option to strictly follow the rules laid out until the end of the tournament.
Muzumdar further explained, “Everybody will have to strictly follow the rules laid out. Trust in each other has been another important aspect. All credit to the Rajasthan Royals franchise for the excellent way in which it has handled the challenges.”
He signed off by saying, “Tackling COVID-related challenges, while the tournament is on, will be huge. On August 18, when everybody first joined the bubble, nobody knew what it was, how it would work because we had only heard about it. Once we entered the bubble, the challenges have been enormous.”
