IPL 2020 | Will miss Chinnaswamy crowd but have played in empty stadiums, admits AB de Villiers

Royal Challengers Bangalore are one of the franchises which would be immensely affected by the change in the venue of the IPL, from India to the Middle East. The franchise very often in the past has been fed by the energy of the crowd at the Chinnaswamy stadium, where they play their home matches. 

However, this season, they would have to do without their home stadium and crowd, owing to the COVID-19 restrictions. Talking about the same, RCB’s top-order batsman AB de Villiers admitted that the franchise would miss the support of their fans in the Chinnaswamy stadium.

"I think obviously all are used to playing in front of crowds on a big stage, there is certainly an amount of adrenaline that is pumped into you when it gets really loud, especially in Chinnaswamy when the RCB crowd gets going, it's difficult to stop the RCB team. So, well miss that there is no doubt about it,” said De Villiers on RCB’s Twitter channel, reported TOI. 

De Villiers also admitted that he is used to playing a lot of cricket in empty stadiums while growing up. Similarly, he added that it would be a huge task to play without the crowd but they wouldn’t be affected as much. 

"But I won't say I am not used to it, I have played a lot of cricket in empty stadiums. I grew up like that. It's only in my international career that I have played in front of crowds," he added. 

Conditions wise too, de Villiers stated that the humidity would be an extreme factor for the players in the Middle East while adding that the players must ensure that they maintain their energy levels throughout the innings. 

"The humidity is similar to that, even at 10 at night. When I arrived here I checked the weather conditions of the last few months and it seems to be getting better. It is definitely going to play a part and you have to make sure you have the energy for the backend of the innings or the last 5 overs of your bowling spell."