Express News Service
It has been a busy last couple of months for the Royal Challengers Bangalore management.
Around five players were unavailable for the tournament, increasing the necessity to find quality players for the second leg of the IPL, which resumes from Sunday. With Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera being two of those replacements, they have found players who have the much-needed experience of playing in similar conditions as in the United Arab Emirates. It is not only about the surface, which will have more wear and tear as the competition gets along, but it is also about the heat and humidity.
The Sri Lankan duo has been born and brought up, playing in such conditions, which is only going to assist Bangalore. More importantly, leggie Hasaranga comes into the season with 11 wickets in his last six T20I games, and is known for taking wickets. Chameera is someone, who can be relied on during the death overs as he possesses good pace, slower balls and effective yorkers. If need be, he could be a great fit with Harshal Patel at the death.
ALSO READ | Five players to watch as IPL rivalries are revived “We have got a few replacements… Hasaranga and Chameera are two guys who have played so much cricket in Sri Lanka, and they know how to play in pitches like these. Their skillsets will definitely be of a huge help to us, playing in Dubai (UAE), understanding how hot and humid conditions can be and how the pitches will play out,” said skipper Virat Kohli during the launch of the team’s blue jersey, which will be worn in their first game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday to pay tribute to Covid frontline warriors. Kohli got out of quarantine on Friday and stepped out for some practice sessions and was pleased to see the energy, with players giving it their all during training. Bangalore, who have never won the IPL, played some good cricket that helped them stay in the top half of the table for the majority of the first leg. They are currently placed third and it remains to be seen how the players fare in the crucial phase now.
The core set of players, including AB de Villiers, Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Siraj, Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal have already featured for the franchise in the UAE in the IPL 2020. So, they are aware of their roles. Glenn Maxwell, irrespective of the conditions, is a game-changer. “We have had a good start in IPL 2021. That is certainly a motivating and driving factor, knowing that we can play a certain brand of cricket which we have shown in the first leg with strong consistent performances, every player chipping in somewhere or the other. The strength of the team is coming together in crunch moments, people standing up and making impact performances when needed for the team…” said Kohli.
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