IPL 2021: Shane Bond and Trent Boult arrive in Abu Dhabi for UAE leg

The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are gearing up for the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were one of the two teams (with other being CSK) to arrive in the UAE earlier than the other sides while the rest of the players from the squad are linking up slowly with the team. The latest to arrive in Abu Dhabi, their base, are the New Zealand duo Shane Bond and Trent Boult.

Bond is the bowling coach of the team while Boult is a crucial player in MI's pace attack which also comprises of Jasprit Bumrah. Both Bond and Boult will now have to undergo mandatory quarantine of six days before linking up with the rest of their teammates. A few days ago, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya also arrived and they started training after finishing their quarantine period.

Mumbai Indians' official Twitter handle shared the news of Bond and Boult reaching Abu Dhabi on Saturday morning. As far as Boult's performance in the first leg is concerned, he picked up eight wickets in seven matches and will be confident of continuing in the same vein having done well in the UAE last year.

Meanwhile, this is also a long stay for Shane Bond in the UAE. Soon after the IPL, he will also link up with the New Zealand squad for the T20 World Cup. He has appointed by the New Zealand Cricket specifically for the tournament. The board will be hoping for Bond to give his tactical inputs to the bowlers during the mega event.

"Shane’s been in our environment before and understands what we’re about. Being in the UAE (with the IPL) immediately prior to the world cup... he’ll hopefully bring some tactical insight into what’s been happening in the competition.

"He’ll be an extra set of hands, especially around the bowlers, working with the spin and the pace bowlers and developing their plans in a tournament that moves pretty quick - so we need to be one step ahead of other teams," NZ coach Gary Stead had said after Bond's appointment.