IPL 2020: Mumbai Indians, KKR start training in Abu Dhabi

While the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) trained early evening, the Mumbai Indians (MI) started its training under lights - in two groups.

Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowls at the nets during his side's practice session in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Putting speculations to rest, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders started their training sessions for the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed international Cricket Stadium academy in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

While Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) began training early evening, Mumbai Indians (MI) practiced under lights - in two groups.

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With strict quarantine protocols in place, there were talks that both KKR and MI could end up being under quarantine for 14 days. But Abu Dhabi Cricket’s CEO, Matt Boucher, had told  Sportstar  on Thursday that efforts were on to resume practice for both the teams from Friday.

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma at his team's training session in Abu Dhabi.

“Feels great to be back in the middle, doing what we do best! It's been a challenging period of quarantine for the Knights, but we all know how important it was for everyone's well-being,” the Knights tweeted after their training session.

After initial confusion, the BCCI team -- comprising IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel and acting CEO Hemang Amin -- had discussions with Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, who apart from being the Emirates Cricket Board chairman, also happens to be UAE’s Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development.

As per the BCCI SOP, the players were tested on days 1, 3 and 6 upon their arrival in UAE, and the clearances were given after tests of both the teams returned negative.