Yuzvendra Chahal had pearls of wisdom for his Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers ahead of an intra-squad practice match between Team Chahal and Team Virat Kohli in Dubai. Chahal, made the captain of the team, had De Villiers slotted in as an opener and the leg-spinner who scored six runs from 14 matches last season, implored De Villiers to make sure the elbow “will go straight” and to “watch the ball till the end.” De Villiers grasped the lessons like a dedicated student. “I didn’t know I was going to open. I just put my pads on because I wanted to be a good player for my captain – to show him that I am always ready no matter what happens,” said De Villiers on his golden opportunity to be led by Chahal.

Bold Diaries: RCB Intra Squad Practice Match

With our 1st match of #Dream11IPL just 4 days away, the team played a practice game where Team Chahal took on Team Kohli.#PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/7NWCmznEqE

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 17, 2020

The good humour aside, the two RCB camps had an intense practice match where key RCB players including De Villiers, Kohli, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, Parthiv Patel and Washington Sundar were seen in action.

RCB are yet to win an IPL title despite having made the final on three occasions – 2009, 2011 and 2016.

Kohli, the captain, said the RCB squad for IPL 2020 is the “most balanced” he has had since 2016 – when RCB last made the IPL final.

They play their first match of the season against SunRisers Hyderabad on September 21 in Dubai.

Promoted

The IPL has been moved out of India to the UAE due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic back home.

The tournament begins on September 19 when defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Chennai Super Kings.