'Very happy to be back in the RCB family'- AB de Villiers upon reaching Dubai

If the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans finally had a smile on their faces seeing Virat Kohli posing from the hotel balcony, they must be going berserk seeing the latest video the franchise posted on their official Instagram page.

Two black Mercedes cars pulled up in front of a Dubai hotel and out came AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Chris Morris to join the rest of the squad.

The caption of the 95-second video read -

“The Proteas arrive . And here it is RCB fans, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! @abdevilliers17, @dalesteyn and @tip-morris have joined the team in Dubai!”

“I am very excited, very happy to be here. The travelling was a bit different to normal but we made it here, I am with my South African friends, we are happy to be back in the RCB family,” AB de Villiers said upon entering the hotel.

AB de Villiers and co. will take time to adjust to new normal

RCB finished runners-up in 2009, 2011 and as latest as in 2016. Credits: India TV News

The players were seen being tested through an infrared thermometer as they walked into the hotel lobby. As per the safety protocols laid out by the stakeholders, all players and support staff will have to be in isolation for six days and undergo three Covid-19 tests before they will be able to join their teams’ bio-secure bubbles. Everyone will further undergo a Covid-19 test every fifth day.

“I am looking forward to settle, pack the bags out, get a feel for what we are in for this year. I am looking forward to get to know everyone, all the new players, there is a whole new feel in the side. So very excited,” AB de Villiers concluded.

While de Villiers has been a part of RCB since 2011, all-rounder Morris was picked up in last December’s auction for a whopping INR 10 crore. It is, however, a homecoming for speedster Dale Steyn who represented RCB from 2008 to 2010, and then played two matches last season as replacement for the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile.