The stars are arriving in the United Arab Emirates for the much anticipated IPL season. Almost all franchises have already landed in IPL host country and settling in for their mandatory quarantine period. Royal Challengers Bangalore will be overjoyed by the news that three South African stars AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Chris Morris have joined the squad in Dubai.
The three Proteas flew from South Africa yesterday and reached the team hotel together at 3 AM in Dubai. There were initial interests about the South African player’s participation in the early stages of IPL 2020 because of travel restrictions commanded by the South African government.
If you were feeling excited today, RCB fans, here’s the cherry on the cake! @Tipo_Morris and @ABdeVilliers17 are on their way! 🥳#PlayBold #TravelDay #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/yBIhP4tmVf
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) August 21, 2020
AB de Villiers, Morris, Steyn join RCB squad
Nevertheless the three main RCB stars De Villiers, Steyn and Morris reported in Dubai almost a month before the tournament kicks off on September 19. The official accounts of the RCB franchise on all platforms posted a video of the three players arriving early morning.
“The Proteas Arrive And here it is RCB fans, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! @abdevilliers17, @dalesteyn and @tipo_morris have joined the team in Dubai! #PlayBold #TravelDay #IPL2020 #BoldDiaries,” RCB captioned the video.
And here it is RCB fans, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! 🤩@ABdeVilliers17, @DaleSteyn62 and @Tipo_Morris have joined the team in Dubai! 😎#PlayBold #TravelDay #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/l0n09ZV5Jb
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) August 22, 2020
Meanwhile, de Villiers who’s been an integral part of the RCB franchise since 2011 said, “I’m very excited, very happy to be here. Travelling was a 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”.
“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,” said Chris Morris who was bought by RCB for Rs. 10 crores in the last auction.
“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 going to be like in a few weeks”, added legendary fast bowler Dale Steyn.
Moreover, the India players of the RCB franchise along with skipper Virat Kohli also reached Dubai. The 13th edition of the IPL will take place across 53 days and three venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The IPL 2020 final will be played on November 10.