The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) players along with director of cricket-cum-coach Mike Hesson and other support staff members started their first training session prior to the second half of IPL 2021. They reached Dubai from Bengaluru on August 29 and hit the ground after finishing their mandatory quarantine period.
On the first day of the training session on Sunday, the players engaged in a game of football to get acclimatized to the weather in UAE.
"The players are getting used to the heat, getting out and running around. Once we start, we want the bowlers to play on an unwinded net. So want to break some new balls, have got other balls to use tomorrow. Also, run through directions and just get it through sore and stiffness," said Hesson in a video released by the franchise on Monday.
After the football match was over, Hesson brought out the plan for upcoming days. "The 6th, 8th, and 10th (September) will be gym days. So, instead of us doing split groups like we did last time, we're all going to go as one group. The 7th, 9th, and 11th will be skill training. It gives you a day where you can work hard and then you can do your own S&C (Strength and Conditioning) and recover."
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With AB de Villiers in quarantine after checking into the team hotel earlier in the day, Hesson said that Glenn Maxwell will arrive two or three days later while Kyle Jamieson will touch down on September 10.
On bubble-to-bubble transfers, Hesson said, "Both the India-England bubble and the Sri Lanka-South Africa bubble will be straight bubble to bubble transfers. So, those will be arriving two or three days before the opening game. Obviously, they've been playing plenty of cricket, so it's just a matter of getting them over here and acclimatizing to the heat."
Royal Challengers Bangalore will kick-start their IPL 2021 campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders on September 20 in Abu Dhabi. They are at third place in the points table with 10 points from seven matches.
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