New Zealand players including the skipper Kane Williamson and the all-rounder Jimmy Neesham finally departed for the IPL on Thursday.
They will be flying to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for joining their respective teams ahead of the 13th edition of the IPL.
Williamson plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad while his countrymen Jimmy Neesham represents Kings XI Punjab in the cash-rich league.
The Black Caps skipper shared a picture with Neesham on his official Instagram account with a caption: “First trip in a while! ✈️ Looking forward to catching up with the Orange army 😊🧡 #orangearmy#sunrisers#ipl”
Yesterday, Williamson had raised concerns over the COVID-19 cases in the bio-secure bubble in the UAE ahead of the IPL. But he also praised all the arrangements the BCCI has made for instance separate hotels for all the teams to combat the spread of the virus.
“Obviously that’s bad news. You don’t want to hear anybody (has) COVID” Williamson told Radio New Zealand on Wednesday.
A total of six New Zealand players will participate in this year’s IPL. But for now, only Williamson and Neesham have reached UAE as other four players are currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League.
The players who reach UAE will first have to be in a mandatory quarantine and also undergo COVID-19 tests before joining their respective teams.
