Delhi Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada has said that the franchise is looking to be the most consistent side in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Delhi had made it to the playoffs in 2019 under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer. The team, that look like a perfect blend of youth and experience, will be looking to make a lay their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time.
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“We had a really good season in 2019, so I know that we can challenge and win this competition because we came really close last season, so mentally I guess that helps. But also, it is a new tournament so we have to start again and we’ve got a nice group put together, nice team,” Delhi Capitals quoted Rabada as saying in an official press release.
“We have to start again and start the whole process, so hopefully we can get off to a good start but win at the end of the season — we want to be the most consistent team and win at times when we really, really need to win,” he added.
Ranada has become a great hit in the IPL as he picked up 25 wickets in just 12 matches for Delhi Capitals in the 2019 edition of the cash-rich tournament.
Meanwhile, the South African speedster joined his IPL mates for his first training session on Monday after spending six days in quarantine on reaching UAE.
“It feels good to be running in and to he with some teammates as well. It is of course some old teammates and some new ones. This situation is quite unique, not a lot of people get to do this. We’re in the middle of a desert, playing cricket — it’s something that I didn’t think I would ever be able to do. So it’s a lot of fun also,” Rabada said.
“It’s been a high volume of cricket in the past five years for me, but I really enjoyed the break at home. I was just chilling with my family,” the second-highest wicket taker of IPL 2019 said about the coronavirus-imposed lockdown.
The 2020 season of the IPL will be played for 53 days from September 19 to November 10 across three venues in the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.
The final match will be played on a Tuesday, to make it the first-ever IPL to have its final on a weekday. The matches this season will also start 30 minutes before their original time of 4 PM and 8 PM.
The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to be played from March 29 this year, was earlier postponed to April 15 before it was suspended again due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
