IPL 2020 in UAE: Alex Carey looking to hone T20 sweep skills with Rishabh Pant
Was prepared to do anything to come and play here, says Delhi Capitals keeper
Dubai: Alex Carey, the dashing Australian wicketkeeper-batsman in white ball cricket, is relishing the prospect of sharing the dressing room with fellow professional Rishabh Pant in the Delhi Capitals camp for the next one and-a-half months.
“Rishabh and I spoke when we played the ODI series in India earlier this year. So, I met him back then and said how excited I was to join him. We haven’t had many training sessions together but we’ve got a couple of months now to catch a lots of balls and play some reverse sweeps, some slog sweeps together. He’s got a lot of energy, and is a great guy to get along with so I’m really excited about that,” said the Australian, who watched from the dugout as Delhi pulled off that sensational Super Over win against Kings XI Punjab last Sunday.
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It’s been a hectic month for the Australian and England cricketers, who completed a T20I and ODI series of three matches each before hopping into a chartered flight commissioned by the franchise owners to reach Dubai late on September 17.
Speaking on the prospect of playing in the IPL in the new normal, Carey told the team website: “It’s a different situation to be in and to be able to come over here (UAE) and play, to have the IPL go ahead is an amazing feeling. For that, we thank the players - thank everyone for putting things together for us. When we were in England, we had a bubble life there, which went really well.
Faith on Rabada
“From there, we jumped on the plane the day after the game (against England) and stayed in Dubai in our hotel bedrooms for the next 24 hours and got our COVID tests done. We were prepared to do anything to come here and to be able to play. The tournament has started so well for us and with another game just around the corner against CSK, hopefully big Stoiney (Marcus Stoinis) can continue his great form,” he added.
Witnessing his first-ever IPL game as a player even though he was on the bench, Carey said he had full confidence in Kagiso Rabada, who put up a remarkable show with the ball to muzzle Punjab in the Super Over. “It was my first IPL game and also my first Super Over, so that was a new experience as well. I suppose we went into the Super Over with a bit of momentum and managed to steal the game then. I had full confidence in Rabada, I have faced him a few times, so I was sure that he was going to nail his yorkers, which he has done a few times to me. He was incredible,” Carey said.
“For him (Kagiso Rabada), firstly to get KL (Rahul) out was a big wicket, and then to nail a fast yorker to take apart the off stump from the ground was pretty exciting,” said the 29-year-old.
“It was a really great feeling to start off with a win, and I think you make really good friendships in a short amount of time when you win such games together,” Carey added.
Delhi Capitals take on Chennai Super Kings in their second game at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.