Suresh Raina believes that the upcoming Indian Premier League in UAE will have a bunch of new challenges for the players. The clarity of thought would be required for a player to get success in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League.
Suresh Raina on upcoming IPL challenges
The IPL has been shifted to the UAE due to the pandemic this year. The tournament will be played from September 19 to November 10 following all coronavirus protocols. Suresh Raina, one of the prime batsmen of Chennai Super Kings in a webinar recently said that this edition would be interesting to see how the players are thinking. “You are playing in different circumstances and you have a lot of protocol from ICC and at the same time you are going to go through (Covid-19) tests every two-three weeks.”
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According to BCCI’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the Indian players and support staff will have to get tested for Covid-19 at least five times before they start training in the UAE. Then they will be tested every fifth day during the league. Speaking about the same, Raina said, “So, I would say coming out from all those tests you need to be clear with your head on what you are going to do on the field because at the end of the day when you are playing a sport, you need to enjoy the game.”
He also said that he has been eagerly waiting for the tournament. According to Suresh Raina, the key would be the mindset of facing challenges and fitness in this IPL 2020. “In this pandemic, a lot of challenges have happened (for the players) and fitness is the key. Luckily, we are going early to the UAE. I believe, this all tests will be done before the IPL and we will be in a good frame of mind because we all are sitting at home from last five months and it will be interesting to see how we fare on the field.”
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Suresh Raina on Dubai’s logistics
He further pointed out why Dubai would be the perfect place to run the tournament. “The best thing in Dubai is that you don’t have logistical problems. It is 45 minutes from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. You go from there (Dubai) to Sharjah, it’s 40 mins. In a way, we will have more rest and more time to plan our things and we know how to overcome the challenge.”
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