IPL 2020: KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar says team wary of having to playing in 'twilight period'

Abu Dhabi: Wary of playing in the twilight period in some matches during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders are making sure they get used to the conditions in the UAE. Bulk of the matches will start at 6pm local time, when the twilight factor will come into play and KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said the team wants to ensure that the players are ready for the challenge. “We have a lot of evening games coming up. So we are keeping that in mind — the fact that the games here will start at 6 o’clock. We will play in that twilight period which is quite difficult in cricket because there is shadow and you sight the ball differently,” Nayar told kkr.in. “So, we are just trying to get used to both conditions — afternoon and evening. There may be a few-day games as well. We know the temperature here is pretty high and it goes up to 40-44 degrees.” [caption id=“attachment_8779521” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar at a team practice session ahead of IPL 2020. Image credit: kkr.in[/caption] He said the ball moves a bit in the evening due to the breeze into the open ground and the players will have to adjust to these conditions. “We are just getting used to the conditions. It’s a different territory. A lot of guys have never played here. “So, for them it’s just to get acclimatised and feel what it’s like playing in different times of the day, what the recovery pattern is and have a better understanding.” Among the first teams to land in the UAE, the Kolkata franchise already had four sessions, including an open net practice on Tuesday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium training facility in Abu Dhabi. Nayar said the players were adapting quickly and would be match-ready in another three-four days. “Most of the guys are looking good. This was just the fourth session. But things are already looking good. Some of them are middling it well, and the consistency will only get better. I am pretty sure in another three-four days and a couple of practice-games down the line, they will all be match-ready.” The assistant coach said the team was in a great frame of mind even though the players did not do practice in the last few months due to the pandemic. “Everyone is looking really fit and they are moving really well, which kind of helps in the batting and you see the transition happen quite quickly. So, in four days, they have gone really fast in terms of how they progressed.”