Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) will depart for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday (August 21) for the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) to be played from September 19 to October 15 in the UAE.
A total of 31 IPL 14 matches, including qualifiers, will be played in three venues – Dubai (13), Sharjah (10), and Abu Dhabi (8) with the final scheduled in Dubai on October 15.
Delhi Capitals (DC) batsman Shreyas Iyer is already in the UAE with the fitness coach while rest of the DC squad will join the franchise after their international commitments.
With regular skipper Shreyas returning and the stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant also fit and ready to play, it would be interesting to see who will lead DC in the remainder of the IPL 2021 in the UAE.
Pant was appointed DC captain after Shreyas was ruled out for few months due to a shoulder injury, but now he is fit to play in the IPL 14, though, the franchise has not yet decided on whether the young wicket-keeper would continue in the role or not in the tournament in the UAE.
A DC official told ANI on Thursday (August 19): “Delhi Capitals will leave on Saturday early morning to UAE for IPL 2021. The team will leave from Delhi with domestic players and officials. Domestic players are already in quarantine in the national capital and they will be quarantined in UAE for a week. Post quarantine their camp will be starting.”
He added, “Shreyas Iyer is already in UAE with a fitness coach, and the rest of the players from India, South Africa, and England will join the team after their international assignments are over. The captain issue is still undecided, either it will be Pant or Iyer, the team management has not yet decided on this.”
Noteworthy, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have already reached the UAE with the IPL 2021 resuming on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between CSK and MI.
(With ANI Inputs)
