Delhi Capitals opener Shikhar Dhawan took his parents' blessings before embarking on over two-month long tour to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will host the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhawan, who opens the innings for Delhi-based franchise, shared a picture on Twitter and Instagram showing him hugging his parents. He even gave the picture an emotional caption as he wrote that "there's no love like the love of your parents". "Came to seek blessings and wishes from my parents before the long tour. They still see me as a kid. There's no love like the love of your parents and I'll always cherish it," he tweeted.
Delhi Capitals have once again entrusted their faith in young Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer with team's leadership role. Dhawan is among of the most senior and experienced players in Delhi team which is full of supremely talented young Indian and overseas players like Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, among others.
Like Dhawan, another Delhi Capitals player Ravichandran Ashwin also parted with his family members before boarding a flight to the UAE. Ashwin's young daughters even gave him some tips to stay safe during his flight.
Due to coronavirus pandemic, this year's IPL has been moved outside of the country with three cities in the UAE scheduled to host all the matches. This will be only the second time when the entire tournament will be played overseas.
The 53-day long tournament will kick-start on September 19 and players from a couple of franchises have already boarded the flight for the Gulf nation, which is not new to hosting IPL matches, having hosted some of the matches in 2014. For the first time in history of IPL, the final will be played on a weekday on November 10.