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Ipl 2021 Now A Knight Rider Sandeep Warrier Recalls Virat Kohlis Role In His Ipl Journey

IPL 2021: Now a Knight Rider, Sandeep Warrier recalls Virat Kohli's role in his IPL journey

Sandeep Warrier was one of the emerging pacers during the 2012-13 edition of the Ranji Trophy when the big opportunity of the Indian Premier League came knocking his door. The offer came directly from the recommendation of Virat Kohli—who was rising with every game at the time and was to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the next edition of the league in 2013.

Looking back at his IPL journey, Warrier recalls how he received a call from the Royal Challengers Bangalore management right after he bowled against Indian batsmen such as Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.

“When I came back from the Ranji trophy, MA Satish sir was the manager of the Indian team that time and India had a One Day match against England in Kochi. He asked me whether I can come to bowl in the nets in Kochi. I went to bowl in the nets. I bowled to Rohit bhai (Rohit Sharma) and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja). So, that’s how Virat saw me that time he told RCB management that day itself and I got the call from Avinash sir (AvinashVaidya, RCB team manager), that we are interested in signing you,” Warrier recalls his journey to the cash-rich league in a video posted by KKR on its YouTube channel.

He recalled that Virat Kohli did not bat against him in the nets before an ODI against England in 2013, but his exploits against other batsmen were good enough for him to recommend his name to the RCB management.

Warrier was only 21-year-old in 2013 when RCB handed him a contract for one year. However, he could not feature in their playing XI and had to wait for a long time to make his debut that came only in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Warrier is a vital cog for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming edition of the IPL starting April 9 as he forms a formidable group of Indian pacers who will partner Pat Cummins to dismantle opposition batting line ups.

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With lion-hearted determination, I’ll be back in no time: Iyer after successful surgery

India batsman Shreays Iyer went under a successful surgery for his shoulder injury on Thursday, 8 April. Iyer took to social media and tweeted, “Surgery was a success and with lion-hearted determination, I’ll be back in no time. Thank you for your wishes.” Iyer had sustained an injury in his shoulder during the ODI series against England at home ruling him out of the remaining fixtures as well as for the IPL. The right-handed cricketer injured himself after diving to stop a drive from Jonny Bairstow off Shardul Thakur. A source had then confirmed that the Indian batsman would have to undergo a surgery. "Shreyas will get operated on April 8 for his shoulder injury," the person had told PTI. Owing to the dislocation and the surgery, Iyer who is the regular captain of Delhi Capitals will be missing the entire IPL given the recovery and rehabilitation process. With Iyer out, DC appointed wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant as the new captain in hopes for bettering their positions after a successful last season. DC had a successful run under Iyer in the last edition’s IPL when they made it to the final for the first time. The Iyer-led side though suffered a defeat in the title clash against Mumbai Indians who lifted the trophy for the fifth time in the history of the tournament. The IPL 2021 will begin on Friday when defending champions MI will lock horns with RCB in Chennai in the opener.

Rohit Sharma has a lot of knowledge to share to every cricketer: Suryakumar Yadav

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has shown his calibre as a skipper after leading the franchise to five IPL titles, most by any team. MI and India batsman Suryakumar Yadav has hailed Rohit and his captaincy skills and has said that he has been doing an amazing job. “I think he has been doing an amazing job and having 5 titles with Mumbai Indians is a proof of that. Result is in front of everyone,” Suryakumar said on Sports Today. Surya who recently made his T20I debut for India against England added that Rohit is one of the most fun-loving cricketers when is off the field and has a lot of knowledge about the game. “Off the field he is very different, he is very fun guy to be around. On the field everyone has seen him how he handles the situation and how he is there for everyone but off the field I think he is the most perfect guy to be around, he jokes around and even there he has a lot of knowledge to share to every cricketer out here. This is a very good point about him which makes him different.” Yadav has been a mainstay at the Mumbai line-up for some time now, scoring a total of 1316 runs in the last three seasons at a mammoth strike rate of 135. MI are the defending champions of the IPL at the moment having won the trophy in 2019 and 2020 editions respectively and the Rohit Sharma-led side will now be seeking to complete the hat trick of title wins this year. MI begin the IPL 2021 campaign against RCB in Chennai on Friday.

You can always walk up to Rahul Dravid and talk to him: Devdutt Padikkal

RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal who stamped his authority with the bat in the last IPL season for the franchise has credited former India captain Rahul Dravid for helping the youngster to enhance his skills. Padikkal in an interaction with Times of India has said that he has discussions about his batting with the legend and how Dravid’s advice has helped him in improving. “I have spoken with Rahul (Dravid) sir a few times. Whenever I have the chance, I have met him. I met him at the KCA most of the time. He is such a humble person. He is ready to give any kind of advice whenever I need it. You can always walk up to him and ask him anything. He has the solution for everything,” Devdutt Padikkal told Times of India. “He always told me that ‘keep working hard, keep learning and keep improving as much as possible. Whenever I met him, I learnt something new. It is always nice and great talking to him. Whenever I get time, I go and speak with him. I listen to him carefully,” he added. Padikkal who had earlier tested positive for COVID-19 has now recovered and is with the RCB team. The left-handed batsman Padikkal played 15 matches for RCB in the last season and scored 473 runs including five half-centuries. Interestingly, Dravid has himself been a part of the RCB franchise in the earlier editions of the IPL. RCB will begin the IPL 2021 campaign against defending Mumbai Indians on Friday in Chennai.

Separate check-in counters, daily tests: BCCI introduces new plans to fight COVID-19

The rise in the COVID-19 cases in the country and the instances of the same within the franchises has become a cause of concern for the BCCI. Mumbai and Delhi are two of the five venues that are scheduled to host the IPL 2021 matches but both these cities have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of news cases in the past few days. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now planning to request the Indian Government to have separate IPL security check-in counters at the airports so that the teams can have a secure bio-bubble as per a report in The Indian Express. Apart from this, the board is also planning to conduct tests on a daily basis while the bio-bubble integrity officer will have to ensure that no one leaves the room without a mask. Other than this, the players will have to wear their masks while leaving the ground as well. The protocols also suggest that if a player or a support staff comes in direct contact with a person infected with COVID-19, he/she will have to go under a seven-day isolation period but if the contact had been minimal then the player would be allowed to train after two negative tests. The BCCI is forced to alter the protocols after the franchises have had COVID-19 positive cases within them. RCB’s Devdutt Padikkal and Daniel Sams, KKR’s Nitish Rana, DC’s Axar Patel and MI’s scout and wicket-keeping consultant Kiran More had tested positive. Devdutt and Rana though later recovered and have joined the camps of their respective teams. The IPL 2021 will begin on Friday with RCB taking on MI in Chennai.