AB de Villiers of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot during match 31 of the Vivo Indian Premier League Season 12, 2019 between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on the 15th April 2019 Photo by: Faheem Hussain /SPORTZPICS for BCCI
Watch: AB de Villiers, Steyn and Morris touch down ahead of IPL
RCB stalwart AB de Villiers and compatriots Dale Steyn and Chris Morris landed in the UAE on Saturday morning as they gear up for next month’s IPL start.
AB de Villiers of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot during match 31 of the Vivo Indian Premier League Season 12, 2019 between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on the 15th April 2019 Photo by: Faheem Hussain /SPORTZPICS for BCCI
The Royal Challengers Bangalore have welcomed the arrival of their three contracted South African players AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Chris Morris.
The three South Africans will go into quarantine before joining up with their teammates for a training camp ahead of the 2020 Indian Premier League.
There had been some concerns about South African players travelling with strict restrictions still in place, but the three men arrived in the UAE on Saturday morning via a chartered flight.
Watch AB de Villiers and company arrive in the UAE
The Royal Challengers will be led by inspirational India skipper Virat Kohli in their quest to finally win the IPL title.
RCB have historically been a star-studded outfit, but they have not been able to get over the line and in recent seasons have struggled to progress to the knockout stages.
De Villiers has a history of doing remarkable things for RCB, but it is Morris whom RCB will look towards to address their relative lack of bowling options.
Upon landing, Morris said that he was a little nervous and keen to get back on the field.
“It’s been quite a while that we’ve played the game that we love. So yeah very challenging but we’re very excited to get going, a little bit nervous too to be honest,” the allrounder said.
Coming out of winter in South Africa, Steyn believes that it will take some time for them to adjust to the tremendous heat in the UAE. Steyn will likely be eager to get through the IPL without injury after missing the last few editions.
“It’s gonna be interesting to play in the heat. We got here like 3 in the morning and it was steaming outside. Looking forward to what’s it gonna be like in a few weeks,” Steyn said.
De Villiers revealed that the travelling process was starkly different from what he has become used to, but he is also eager to play once again.
Mister 360 said: “I’m very excited, very happy to be here. Travelling was bit different to normal but we’ve made it here with my South African friends and we’re very happy to be back in the RCB family, and looking forward to my Covid Test.”
RCB’s Indian contingent travelled to the UAE together arriving on Friday. The four RCB players who will be involved in the England vs Australia series will be allowed to join the bio-bubble without quarantine as they will have already been in a bio-secure environment.
