Quarantine drills, fun zoom calls, virtual workout sessions and some quality team time. We have got it all covered for you as part of our Dream 11 IPL teams’ watch where we bring the best of on-field action and some behind the scenes fun moments.

Mumbai Indians

James Pattinson to replace Lasith Malinga

The Mumbai Indians have announced that Lasith Malinga will not take part in the Dream 11 IPL this season and will be replaced by James Pattinson. Malinga, who has featured in 122 matches for MI has 170 wickets, the most by any bowler in the history of the tournament.

QDK-NCN hit the nets

Mumbai Indians’ most-expensive buy at the 2020 IPL auction, Nathan Coulter-Nile joined the team and upon successfully completing his quarantine, hit the nets with Quinton de Kock. There will be a lot of expectations from the strapping Australian bowler and he said he had been in good shape as he had trained before arriving in UAE.

Sprawling team room thrown open for #OneFamily

Team rooms are the most frequented places in the hotel and MI gave the first glimpse of their sprawling team room when they opened the doors to welcome their members. From arcade games, to karaoke and bands, the MI team room has something to suit everyone’s taste. The Pandya brothers took over the mic and were again the showstoppers in what proved to be a fun get together for all. Listen in as Zaheer Khan takes you behind the scenes.

Delhi Capitals

Quarantine done. Enter, Ricky Ponting

Some cake-love will be in the offing for the Delhi Capitals as Ishant Sharma turns a year older on Wednesday. But Tuesday had something else in store.

Coach Ricky Ponting, with quarantine behind him, arrived at the training facilities in Dubai for the first time ahead of this year’s IPL and oversaw the practice. And going by the picture that was up on DC’s social media channels, skipper Shreyas Iyer clearly looked chuffed by the Australian’s presence.

While the prevalent COVID situation means that the players will be in the bio bubbles, the teams are leaving no stones unturned in keeping their players relaxed.

One look at the Delhi Capitals’ team room, which is full of games – board games, pool, VR, AR, arcade games, video games, and you will realise that the players can have some good time.

Rajasthan Royals

Sanju ‘Scoop’ and Manan’s acrobatics

While Delhi Capitals were in action in Dubai, Rajasthan Royals had a “scoop” of sorts to share, starring Sanju Samson, as they spent some quality time at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

If it was Sanju who brought some entertainment, it was Manan Vohra who was in the middle of some action. The new entrant to the Royals mix, Vohra clearly was impressive.

Believe us. Okay, we go a step further to make things straightforward (as he takes a few steps back) and share this piece of fielding brilliance from the practice session. And trust Rajasthan Royals when they say, it is worth your time to watch what Manan did.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders landed in Abu Dhabi and started their quarantine with some virtual training sessions with their newly appointed strength and conditioning coach Chris Donaldson. A former Olympic sprinter, Chris sure got the Knights to sweat it out – Literally!

Not just that, the Knights got into a fun quiz over a zoom call that had a lot of fun and banter in store for the fans. This one was a laugh riot.

Apart from fun and games, the Knights also had two of their young spearheads in focus – Shivam Mavi & Kamlesh Nagarkoti who have been out of action, but were raring to go this season

And finally, after keeping themselves busy indoors, the Knights moved outdoors and hit the nets.

After keeping their fans hooked on to some pictures and videos from their nets, the Knights gave a sneak peek into their fun get together in Abu Dhabi post 7 days of quarantine. Also, not to forget a flashy, fun arena – their team room. Cheggit!

Sunrisers Hyderabad

If KKR put their zoom calls to good use, the Sunrisers Hyderabad found an innovative way of using zoom calls. Team mentor VVS Laxman welcomed their new entrants for this year over a zoom call – Talk about breaking the ice – Virtually!

Meanwhile, it was also time for the shutterbugs to get clicking post quarantine. New profile pics for all.

And soon enough it was time for the Orange Army to hit the ground as well.

Talk about mixing fun with games – this one was proof, the Sunrisers had their bit of fun inside their hotel rooms

But Hey Ho! Who’s that in the nets? SRH unleashed their hard-hitting youngster from Jammu & Kashmir – Abdul Samad

RCB – Playing Bold

The Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday announced the inclusion of Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa into the squad. He replaced countryman Kane Richardson who has pulled out of the tournament due to the arrival of
their child.

The RCB camp has been upbeat ever since they have been out of the quarantine. From celebrating Yuzvendra Chahal’s engagement to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma expecting some good news early next year, the team has been gelling up well in their biosecure bubbles.

While Captain Kohli was seen middling bouncers on Day 1 of their training, the bowlers were right on the money with their bouncers and Yorkers.

Kings XI Punjab

‘After Neil Armstrong, it is Mohammed Shami’

The Kings made the most of their off day as took to the private beach in their hotel, a bonding exercise where everyone joined in. Head Coach Anil Kumble was out there with his camera and while his photography skills are well-known, he showed his fun side taking an image of Mohammed Shami who seemed to be capturing the moon between his fingers. It turned out to be a perfect capture with Mr. Kumble remaking, “After Neil Armstrong, it is Mohammed Shami.”

Fielding coach Jonty Rhodes is ecstatic

Having spent a week locked up in his hotel room, there was no end to Jonty Rhodes’ joy as he took control of the fielding session. He said the most difficult part was to be stationed in the room but now that everyone is out, it is for him to get going. He said the energy shown by seniors was important.

Chennai Super Kings

The Chennai Super Kings camp have had a few impediments at the start with their quarantine extended by a few days.

A huge blow to the CSK camp was when Suresh Raina left the camp and returned home for personal reasons. 

The silver lining in the camp was the arrival of Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi in Dubai.