Former South African cricketer and the current fielding coach of the King’s XI Punjab (KXIP), Jonty Rhodes has said that lack of match practice will be a prominent problem amongst the players in the initial phase of IPL 2020.
Jonty Rhodes, returned as a coach after a two year break. Rhodes emphasis the significance of match mindset for the players and how practice plays a crucial part in the outset of the tournament.
“I think from a skills point of view, batting wise, all the boys have their skills back, they are playing ramp shots in the nets and playing shots all around the ground, which is interesting because they could not practice much during the lockdown,” Jonty Rhodes said.
Attaining the match mindset for a tournament like IPL 2020 is very important: Jonty Rhodes
All the eight teams have been training rigorously, but the South African has shifted his focus on match practice rather than just nets.
“You tend to pick up the skills quickly, but it is the match practice or the lack of it that will take a while to get used to. Playing in the nets is one thing, if you can get the match mindset, especially in a tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL) it is very important,” he added.
Jonty Rhodes, also said that the management has decided to arrange a couple of side matches for the squad to reignite the match mindset amongst players following a prolonged break from cricket.
“We are trying to arrange one or two practice games just because of this reason (for match mindset). The skills have come back quickly. The balls are just flying out of the ground, and it is good to see the bowlers hitting the right areas,” Jonty Rhodes mentioned.
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is about to start from September 19.
