Katich delighted to see RCB batsmen picking up rhythm

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) coach Simon Katich is amazed to see how soon batsmen have got back to the groove after long lay-off.

The RCB batsmen seemed to have found their rhythm and played shots all over the ground during the nets on a grassy wicket.

“In terms of conditions, it was a bit tricky in the second training session, there was a bit of grass on the wicket so there was swing movement, because it is fresh wicket and it is quite humid here,” said Katich in a video, which was posted by RCB on their official Twitter account.

“The bowlers did well but what stood out for me was that batters applied themselves really well, guys got in there and played proper cricket shots.

“They got used to the wicket and you could tell it was their second training session and they had the first one a couple of days ago only and now they are building on that,” he added.

The Australian was most impressed by Punjab all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh, who had a good drill in the nets.

“Gurkeerat was magnificent tonight. What was really impressive was that he applied himself in the batting session like he would probably do in a match.”

“It’s not easy to do because a lot of guys just try to hit the balls for boundaries during the training session, but sometimes you need to get in there and construct your innings like you would in a game to prepare for what’s coming up,” Katich added.

Meanwhile, South African genius AB de Villiers was pleased with his rhythm in the second training session of the team at ICC Academy.

“It’s nice to be out there in the middle, it is an open field so you can see the ball travelling around the ground. it’s very enjoyable, it was a bit cooler in the second training session, last time it was on the hotter and humid,” de Villiers said.

RCB batsman Shivam Mode also sounded delighted and satisfied after the second session.

“Yes, it was nice. We enjoyed the second session of the RCB team practice. Yes we are getting better day by day,” said Shivam.

Earlier also Katich had said that is excited with prospect of having a huge pool of young talented players in the team. It is the group of young stars, which excites the coach ahead of the cricket extravaganza, which will be held in the UAE from Sept.19 to Nov.10.

“You got Shivam, who came on the scene last year. When you look with that perspective there are a lot of young players, who are very promising.

“There is Josh Phillipe, an exciting and promising coming from Australia. This is group we are looking forward to work on,” said an optimistic and upbeat Katich.

He also named a few more young players, who can leave their mark on the tournament.

“Mohammed Siraj, who was with Hyderabad Sun Risers and now has been with us for a last couple of years, is a very good prospect. He is still a young player. Negi is another youngster in the squad who looks very promising. He is still 27 years old only. Anyone under 30 is a young player because to me he still has his best to come,” added Katich.

“Shahabaz Ahmad did very well for Bengal in all formats. He is another talented player. Washington Sundar is obviously going to be current player to look out in T20s. He is just 21.

RCB are playing with three specialist wicket-keepers – De Villiers, Patel and Phillipe.

Meanwhile, former South African all-rounder Chris Morris also exuded happiness after attending the second session.

“It is good. It was better than the first one. The first one was quite tough, very hot and humid. It is not easy in a bio-bubble. Pretty happy,” said Morris.

Morris has been a permanent feature of the IPL. He has been around for quite a long time and has a huge experience in the tournament.

Morris has played with different IPL teams, like Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals before moving to RCB.

The 13th edition of the IPl has been sifted to Dubai in the wake of rising cases of coronavirus in India. India recently became the first country to report 80,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day. The tournament was shifted to the UAE because of the safety of the players and other staff. It will be held from Sept.19-Nov.10.

This is the second time the UAE is set to host the IPL. The tournament was played in the UAE in 2014 also due to the general elections in the biggest democracy of the world.