Players Coming Into IPL 13 After Long Breaks, Sand-Based Outfields In UAE May Cause More Injuries: Kaif

Former Indian Test cricketer Mohammad Kaif who is presently the assistant coach of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2020 gave his opinion on why players could be inflicted with certain type of injuries in IPL 13 due to the ground conditions prevalent in the UAE.

Mohammad Kaif (AFP)

Delhi Capitals (DC) will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Game 7 of the ongoing thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) later in the evening at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. While Delhi Capitals defeated Kings Eleven Punjab in a thrilling contest which was decided by a Super Over, 3-time champions Chennai Super Kings have had a mixed bag of sorts beating defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opener and losing their next game to Rajasthan Royals. Ahead of the CSK vs DC encounter in IPL 2020, both teams have been hit by injuries to their key players and would look at the best possible replacements for their seasoned campaigners in-order to get their strongest possible playing eleven for the match. CSK might once again be without their middle order workhorse Ambati Rayadu as the batsman missed out playing against Rajasthan Royals due to an injury. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals has its own set of injury woes after experienced seamer Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin sustained injuries. Former Indian Test cricketer Mohammad Kaif who is presently the assistant coach of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2020 gave his opinion on why players could be inflicted with certain type of injuries in IPL 13 due to the ground conditions prevalent in the UAE. Kaif zeroed in on two factors which could see players getting injured during the ongoing season at UAE. He pointed out at players heading into the IPL after a long break and playing on sand based grounds of much bigger dimensions  which they are not accustomed to. The former Indian player also pointed out at the fact that the playing on big grounds is quite different to the intense training sessions which the teams undertake to practice ahead of the match.

"Yes, soft tissue injuries will be more because after a long break players are coming and trying to give their best shot on a sand-based ground which is not easy. We're not used to it, body is not used to it so it's totally different," said Kaif in a press interaction arranged by Delhi Capitals.

"And it's a big ground so there's lot of running involved, lot of sprinting which probably don't match the training sessions. Training session is about batting, bowling and couple of fielding but intensity is not that much compared to match day. So that's why I feel it's going to be a tough one on the players this year," added Kaif. In the context of the tournament, the franchises have lost out on some key players due to injuries. While SRH all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out due to an ankle injury, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma seemed to have pulled his hamstring during his 80-run knock against Kolkata Knight Riders. Kaif also felt the need for franchises to reassess their strategies to the conditions present in UAE, particularly to the dew factor which has picked up over the last week "When we came here one month ago there was not much dew, but in the last 5-10 days there has been a big change in the weather and conditions. Evenings around 6 or 7 the dew starts setting in. But on the match ground, there wasn't as much dew compared to the ICC Academy ground [where teams practice] which is an open ground. So ground fielding is quite difficult, the ball becomes harder too when it gets wet and we have to be mindful not to have hard or tough sessions so that the players don't get injured," he said when asked about the challenged in the fielding department.