Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will resume their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign on September 20 by wearing blue jersey against Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi.

RCB had announced in May that they would be sporting blue jerseys to honour the frontline workers fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic in India. However, before their next fixture, the IPL was suspended due to positive Covid-19 cases in the bio-bubbles of franchises in Delhi and Ahmedabad.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shifted the IPL out of India and said the remainder of the season would be held in the UAE from September 19 to October 15.

“RCB to wear Blue Jersey v KKR on 20th. We at RCB are honoured to sport the Blue kit, which resembles the colour of the PPE kits of the frontline warriors, to pay tribute to their invaluable service while leading the fight against the Covid pandemic,” RCB said in a statement.

RCB to wear Blue Jersey v KKR on 20th

We at RCB are honoured to sport the Blue kit, that resembles the colour of the PPE kits of the frontline warriors, to pay tribute to their invaluable service while leading the fight against the Covid pandemic.#PlayBold #1Team1Fight pic.twitter.com/r0NPBdybAS

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 14, 2021

Instead of their flagship ‘Go Green’ campaign jersey, RCB will be sporting blue this year. The blue jerseys will also have important healthcare messages engraved on it.

Notably, the likes of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj arrived in the UAE in a chartered plane from Manchester where India were playing a Test series against England. The 5th and final Test of the said series was cancelled after Covid-19 scare in the Indian camp.

The likes of AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell also arrived in the UAE earlier this month to gear up for the remainder of the season.

Mike Hesson, who has doubled as coach after Simon Katich’s withdrawal, has been overseeing the training with the available RCB players in the UAE

RCB will look to reach the play-offs for the second successive IPL season. Virat Kohli’s men are currently at the 3rd spot with 5 wins from 7 matches, tied on 10 points with 2nd-placed Chennai Super Kings. Delhi Capitals are on top of the points table with 12 points from 8 matches.