Mohammad Kaif Backs Players To Recover Swiftly Due To Less Travelling In The UAE

Delhi Capitals’ assistant coach Mohammad Kaif sees a significant positivity of the IPL taking place in the UAE instead of India. The 13th edition of the extravaganza is all set to begin from the 19th of September across three cities; Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, which are closer to each other. Mohammad Kaif reckons that players will recover faster due to the need to travel less.

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With the IPL taking place in India for the many previous editions, there was frequent flying from one city to another and changing of hotels. However, the swift rise in cases of COVID-19 pandemic forced the IPL to be shifted to the UAE. India has so far recorded more than thirty lakhs cases of it with several places under lockdown as well.

Mohammad Kaif pointed out that the primary difference between the upcoming and previous tournaments is that the players will not have to travel much. Kaif said that in India, there was continuous commute across the country, waiting at the airports, hotels while in the UAE, the grounds are closer and players come back to the same hotel. Hence, it would facilitate rapid recovery.

“A major difference between the previous editions of IPL in India is that we will not be travelling a lot. In India, you are always travelling across the country, waiting at the airports, hotels etc…while here the grounds are not very far and the players are coming back to the same hotel. I feel the recovery for the next game will be faster,” Kaif told during a virtual media conference.

Mohammad Kaif expects the players to be rusty initially:

The former Indian middle-order batsman further said that the players’ ability and reflexes might have taken a hit during the lockdown. Hence, it would be a challenge to hit the straps in the initial phase of the competition.

“Yes, the quality of reflexes may have suffered a bit for the players during this lockdown and it’s going to make a big difference, at least in the initial stages of the tournament,” the 39-year old added.

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