With the 2021 edition of the Vivo Indian Premier League commencing on the 9th of April, teams have started arriving in Mumbai ahead of their first few games of the tournament. In adherence to coronavirus protocols, arriving players have immediately gone into the mandatory seven-day quarantine in the city.
Players from the IPL 2020 finalists Delhi Capitals including pacemen Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Team India Test Vice Captain Ajinkya Rahane have arrived at Mumbai and started their 7-day quarantine as well.
Delhi will play the first three games of the tournament in Mumbai before heading off to Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata for the last leg of the league stages.
Meanwhile, Playoff games which include two Qualifiers, an Eliminator, and the Finals, will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Capitals will start their campaign on the 10th of April at the Wankhede Stadium against Chennai Super Kings.
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“A few Indian members of the Delhi Capitals' squad, which included pacers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, leg-spinner Amit Mishra and all-rounder Lalit Yadav, assembled at the team hotel in Mumbai on Tuesday, 23 March 2021. The players will be in quarantine until 30 March 2021,” an official release said.
Delhi Capitals is likely to miss the services of skipper Shreyas Iyer this season as he suffered a dislocated shoulder while fielding during the 1st ODI between India and England in Pune. He has also been ruled out of the rest of the 3-match ODI series which India currently leads 1-0. Iyer hoped for a strong comeback as he tweeted, “You know what they say, the greater the setback, the stronger the comeback. I shall be back soon.”
Games 2 and 3 of the ODI series against England will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on March 26 and 28, respectively.
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There’s no word from the Delhi camp about the replacement captain for the team. Speculations are rife about who can take up the mantle with the names of Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravichandran Ashwin popping up so far.
Ex-Australia captain Steve Smith who will play his first season with Delhi Capitals this year is another name in contention for the captaincy role given his previous experience as the skipper of Rajasthan Royals.
Mumbai Indians will not play at the Wankhede this season unless the IPL Governing Council makes a last-minute U-turn.
As per the schedule currently available, the five-time IPL winners and the defending champions will start their games at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai and will move on to Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata to conclude the league stages of IPL 2021. Mumbai Indians will play Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the tournament at Chepauk on April 9.
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