Mumbai Indians are utilising their time in the lead up to the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to get acclimatised to the heat of Abu Dhabi. Mumbai shared a video on social media where players make their best guess as to what the temperature of the city is and follow the best practices to “keep yourself hydrated” and get used to the conditions they are likely to face when the tournament gets underway on September 19. “It’s getting hot out there” is how Mumbai captioned their post.
“The hardest thing is it saps your energy,” said Shane Bond, the Mumbai bowling coach.
“The other hardest thing is holding the new ball when you’re sweating. Because your hands are so wet and that can be a challenge for a number of bowlers.”
Captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Aditya Tare and Rahul Chahar were seen sweating it out at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai’s base for the tournament.
“I think most people are quite aware of the situation,” said Robin Singh, the batting coach.
“Chappy (Paul Chapman, strength and conditioning coach) has given them some basic protocols. Some basic rules they need to follow to consistently keep hydrating yourself throughout the day.”
“We are lucky we have three-and-a-half weeks left before our first game that we can [use to] acclimatise,” added Bond.
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IPL 2020 gets underway from September 19 and the final will be played on November 10.
Mumbai Indians are the defending champions and have won the tournament a record four times — 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019.