“The conditions are very very hot”: KL Rahul after hitting his first net session in UAE

The 13th edition of Indian Premier League is all set to commence on 19th September 2020. All the franchises have reached the UAE and are currently completing their six-day quarantine period. The players will undergo three tests in this period and should be tested negative to start training.

Kings Eleven Punjab was the first team which reached UAE. After spending the six-day quarantine period and doing all the tests, KL Rahul led side hit the first training session on Wednesday. The skipper of Kings Eleven Punjab, who stayed inside his home for 169 days due to Covid-19, too joined the training session and felt good getting back to the ground.

“It (the net session) was very good. Been at home for so long so just being able to get a chance to be in the middle with the team to get a hit feels really really good,” Rahul said.

KL Rahul said that the temperature is too hot in UAE and would have enjoyed a lot more if it was a little better.

“The conditions are very very hot. Ideally I would have loved to bat in temperature much cooler. But yeah, really happy to be outdoors and to practice and to do what we love,” he further added.

2020 Indian Premier League is scheduled to commence from 19th September 2020. The final of the tournament will be played on 10th November 2020.

KL Rahul will lead Punjab for the first time in his IPL career. The Karnataka player is geared up and looking forward to the opportunity. For the last two seasons, Ravichandran Ashwin led the side. However, with him being transferred to Delhi Capitals this year, KL Rahul will take the captaincy duties.

“I always played the game thinking as if I’m the captain”: KL RAHUL 

When asked if he is feeling any pressure of captaining the side, KL Rahul said that he has always played the game thinking he is the captain of the side.

“I always played the game thinking as if I’m the captain. At the ground, I always think of what I would have done in a particular situation,” Rahul told The Indian Express.

“Whom I would have bowled in a situation? I was always proactive in my head and it’s just an extension of that. I know it will be harder than I think. I am not going in with any expectations, like I have played cricket so many years.”