Eight players of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisee Mumbai Indians are set to undergo intense training in Durban, South Africa, ahead of the second edition of the IPL which is awaiting government clearance.
Among the players who have left for South Africa tonight are members of the Ranji Trophy winning Mumbai team - one-down batsman Ajinkya Rahane and all-rounder Abhishek Nayar - and Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary, a media release said on Thursday.
Rohan Raje, Rahil Sheikh (both Mumbai), Yogesh Takawale (Maharashtra), Pinal Shah (Baroda) and Jaydev Shah (Saurashtra) are the other players. They will be accompanied by trainer Ramji Shriram and player co-ordinator Rahul Sanghvi.
"We are keen that our young players get the exposure of playing in different conditions, and on fast conditions and on fast pitches. We have identified fielding and fitness as key areas," Mumbai Indians' owner Nita Ambani said.
They will be trained by former SA captain Pollock, who will be donning a new role as their chief mentor after representing the team as a player last year, and his one time national teammate Jonty Rhodes, who is the fielding coach of the team.