KKR trio Russell, Sunl Narine and Tim Seifert reach UAE for 2nd phase of IPL 2021
Kolkata Knight Riders received a significant boost on Thursday night when superstar players Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Tim Seifert touched down in Abu Dhabi ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Russell represented Jamaica Tallawahs while Sunil and Seifert were a part of Trinbago Knight Riders who made it to the semifinal of the tournament. All three players have been in good form, with Russell even recording the fastest fifty in the history of the tournament during the course of CPL 2021.
The three players, along with analyst AR Srikkanth reached UAE via Malaga in Spain, where the private jet made a halt at the Tarmac to refuel the aircraft. The members were tested upon arrival at the Royal Jet private facility in Abu Dhabi and then transferred to quarantine at the team hotel. Upon clearing the necessary protocols, they will be allowed to come out of quarantine as per BCCI’s guidelines.
All KKR players are now in the IPL bubble and KKR will start their second leg of the campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Abu Dhabi on September 20. The two-time IPL champions are placed seventh in the points table with four points from seven matches.
IPL 2021 was initially postponed indefinitely after just 29 matches in May due to the second wave of Covid-19 in India. But the Indian cricket board (BCCI) was able to find out a window to slot in the remaining 31 games to complete the season and thus, decided to take the tournament to the UAE where it will be played from September 19 to October 15 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Oman.
