XtraTime Web Desk: The 13th edition of Indian Premier League is just few days away as the league is ready to start on 19th of September. IPL had shifte from India to UAE this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and this is why the teams are facing a lot of challenges this year. The bio-secure bubble is definetly one of them where the players and support staff of all the franchises have to follow all the rules and guidelines very strictly. Other than that, the hot and humid conditions of UAE is also throwing new challenge to the players.
The team from Bengal, Kolkata Knight Riders are practicing hard in the nets despite of the tough conditions in UAE. The record buy, Pat Cummings, one of their key player is yet to join the side as he is currently playing the limited-overs series against England.
Cummings is expected to join team KKR at the end of the week but he’s keeping all the updates. Lockie Ferguson, another pacer from the KKR camp revealed that the Aussie speedster tried to find out about the weather conditions via text message. Ferguson had a very cheeky response when asked about it.
During an interview on Kolkata Knight Riders’ website, Ferguson was asked about how excited he is regarding playing the tournament amid new conditions in the UAE.
In his response, the Kiwi speedster said: “Yeah, very excited. I’ve played here a couple of times (for New Zealand). I’ll surely miss the buzz at Eden Gardens and around India, but I’m looking forward to the challenges of playing in the UAE as well.”
Ferguson then went on to address the conditions in the UAE. “Pat Cummins texted me the other day asking ‘how is the heat,’ and I lied to him saying it’s not too bad. Well, let him come and check it out – it’s pretty bad, isn’t it! (laughters),” the bowler said.
The KKR fans will certainly hope that Cummins gets adjusted to the hot conditions in the UAE quickly after he arrives as he is expected to be a key player for the franchise this season.
Ferguson also went on to praise Cummins and said that he is looking forward to bowl alongside him. “Yeah, pace-offs we are surely going to have with each other. I don’t know if you are aware of this fast bowling club. We are always nice to the guy who can bowl at 150kmph! (Laughter).
“Look, Pat is an exceptional bowler, there is no secret about that. He is either the bowler of player of the year internationally almost every year. He seems to be getting better and better and he is still so young. He is a lovely guy and I am thoroughly looking forward to rubbing shoulders with him,” Ferguson signed off.