Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya join Mumbai Indians camp in Abu Dhabi for IPL 2021 Phase 2

Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya seem to be in a perfect frame of mind ahead of the second phase of the IPL 2021 that gets underway on September 19. Lately, the Pandya brothers joined the Mumbai Indians camp in Abu Dhabi for participating in the marquee tournament. 

Hardik Pandya & elder brother Krunal join Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi

In a video posted by the Mumbai Indians on their official Instagram handle, the Pandya brothers can be seen entering The ST. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi in grand style. The video ends with Hardik Pandya blowing a flying kiss.

IPL 2021 phase 2

The IPL 2021 will resume on September 19 with the final set to be played on October 15. A total of 31 matches will be played in the given time frame. The second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition will begin with a "blockbuster clash" between defending champion Mumbai Indians and the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

The final match of the league stage will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals on October 8. The knockout stage of the premier T20 competition will begin on October 10, with Qualifier 1 taking place in Dubai, the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on October 11 and October 13, respectively. 

Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021

Prior to the IPL's temporary suspension on May 4, the reigning champions were placed at the fourth spot in the IPL 2021 points table with four wins from seven matches and eight points to their tally. The Rohit Sharma-led side would now be hoping to consolidate a playoff berth as they look forward to winning their record sixth IPL crown and if they succeed in doing so, then the Mumbai-based franchise would become the first team in the history of the marquee tournament to register a hat-trick of title triumphs. 

Foreign players in IPL 2021

With Jos Buttler not coming back, Rajasthan Royals have signed Glenn Phillips as the like-to-like replacement. Sri Lanka’s pacer Dushmant Chameera comes in place of Australian pacer Daniel Sams, who has opted out of the tournament. Nathan Ellis was signed by Punjab Kings after Jhye Richardson and Riley Meridith confirmed their unavailability for the tournament.

Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga has been roped in by RCB to replace Adam Zampa who is unavailable for the rest of the tournament.  Pat Cummins will miss phase two of IPL 2021 due to the impending birth of his first child. With the Australian contingent given the green light to take part in IPL 2021, the likes of David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Hazlewood will all be part of IPL 2021. The likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, and Ben Cutting are also among Australians in the IPL.