The IPL fever is slowly but surely taking over the entire cricket universe. With the first match of IPL 2020 just seven days away, former cricketers and experts have started traveling to the United Arab Emirates to be part of the broadcast team. Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen was the last to fly to Dubai to be part of IPL 2020.
The first thing Pietersen did before leaving for Dubai was to predict the winner of this year’s IPL. “Who is winning? I hope it is Delhi,” Pietersen wrote on his Instagram account.
Pietersen was recently commenting on the now concluded T20I series between England and Australia. Now the former English batsman has left the shores of Southampton and headed for Dubai.
“From a bubble in the UK to a bubble in Dubai …! I love that we are back to cricket and, as always, I am very excited to be working on the IPL, ”added Pietersen.
During his playing days, Pietersen had represented Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune SuperGiants in the IPL.
The Delhi Capitals led by Shreyas Iyer are one of three teams in the IPL along with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab that have yet to win the tournament. The Capitals, however, are the only team that never made it to the IPL final.
They would expect a change of fortune with the induction of players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane, who will reinforce their already strong team in the presence of Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw and Captain Iyer.
The Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will meet in the opening match of IPL 2020 on September 19. Dubai will host 24 games, Abu Dhabi will host 20 games, while Sharjah will host 12 games.
The Delhi Capitals kick off their campaign in the 13th IPL against Kings XI Punjab on September 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
The 2020 IPL will be played from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates in three locations: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
(With ANI inputs)
.
