The Board of Control for Cricket in India has relaxed the quarantine norms for the Australian and English players arriving from the UK to play the Indian Premier League in the UAE.
This will ensure that players will be available for selection for their respective teams’ first match of the IPL 2020.
While some of the players will need only 36-hours of quarantine and a COVID-19 report after their arrival in the UAE, some other players will be required to stay in their hotel rooms for six days before joining their teams in the biosecure bubble.
The 21 players flying in from the UK after the England-Australia limited-overs series will be arriving in the UAE today (Thursday). They need to isolate themselves for a varying period ranging between one and six days, according to ESPNCricinfo.
The players joining the six teams in Dubai will need only 36 hours of isolation. That means, Chennai Super Kings will have Josh Hazlewood and Sam Curran available for selection for the tournament opener against Mumbai Indians on Saturday. The players will just have to clear the COVID-19 detection test.
The 18 players arriving in Dubai will only require 36 hours of quarantine.
However, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Tom Banton will have to stay in isolation in Abu Dhabi before joining the Kolkata Knight Riders camp. The Knight Riders play their first game of the IPL 2020 on September 23. That means the even the KKR will be in a position to play the trio in their first match against Mumbai Indians.
The protocol has reportedly been relaxed on the ground that the player will be coming from one biosecure bubble to another.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi Governments have different COVID-19 SOPs for people arriving from overseas. Dubai requires no quarantine after getting a COVID-19 negative report on arrival. In Abu Dhabi two-week isolation is mandatory. The rule his relaxed for the KKR players as they will be operating in a biosecure bubble.