CPL franchises unhappy with Trinbago Knight Riders staying away from bio-bubble and training

Controversy has hit the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) even before a ball has been bowled. There is dissatisfaction among members of several franchises about the fact that the players from Trinidad and Tobago, most of whom will be representing the Trinbago Knight Riders this year, have received permission to stay outside the bio-secure bubble and continue to train, while the rest of the squads have been confined to their hotel rooms for more than a week.

St. Lucia Zouks’ skipper Daren Sammy has expressed his criticism on Twitter, saying everyone should have been part of the bubble from the first day to “guarantee” that the health and safety of all stakeholders is not compromised.

Sammy tweeted on Monday, “How can everybody else be in a bubble no access to training or practice games while others on the outside in a COVID infected area be training and playing practice games. Then allow to join the bubble without self-isolation,” Sammy said in his first post.

ALSO READ: All CPL players and staff tested negative for COVID-19 after landing at T&T

An hour later he put out another tweet, which read, “Everyone should have been in the bubble from day 1. That the only way you can guarantee everyone’s health and safety is not compromised. But hey I’m no COVID expert.”

CPL sent out a media release on Tuesday, which said that the Zouks and Knight Riders were the first two teams to be allowed to train. The release also said the local Trinidad players and staff had cleared the mandatory testing process and would start entering the bubble this week.

According to ESPNCricinfo, even defending champions Barbados Tridents had approached the CPL, raising the red flag about why the local franchise was not asked to enter the bubble and undergo the mandatory week-long quarantine. Rival teams felt that the Knight Riders were getting an unfair advantage in terms of preparation as most of their squad players were not just training but had also played few practice matches.

Daren Sammy expressed his disgruntlement on Twitter

As per the CPL protocol, it is mandatory for all team members coming from outside of Trinidad to quarantine in their hotel rooms for one week. After that, each member will need to report two negative tests before heading into training.

Michael Hall, the tournament operations director, said that the CPL has been “extremely careful” about “introducing those who are resident in Trinidad & Tobago into the tournament bubble”.

Although the Knight Riders have made no comment, it is understood that they are satisfied that they have broken no rules. It is understood that Trinidad-based players who are part of other teams like Nicholas Pooran, who represents Guyana Amazon Warriors, were also approached to participate in the practice matches, but they refused.

On August 8, Dr Akshai Mansingh, the CPL’s chief medical officer, sent a note to all teams, explaining the quarantine norms both for team members coming into Trinidad from outside and for locals. With regards to team members resident in Trinidad, Mansingh wrote in an email, that they can join the bubble having had a negative test after day 8. Thereafter they must remain in the bubble and comply with the above-mentioned guidelines.

ALSO READ: Fabian Allen ruled out of CPL 2020

Mansingh said with Trinidad recording eight deaths and less than 300 COVID-19 positive cases until Tuesday, anyone coming in from outside was seen as a potential threat. The country has closed its borders and the bubble was hence mandatory and would also apply to all incoming people, including Trinidadians travelling home from overseas. As for local citizens, there were no restrictions on their movements. He wrote, “They have not restricted movements of their citizens as they have not had large community spread. This, of course, could change in the future.”

Mansingh further wrote, “For those of you coming from the English tour, I just want to point out the difference between the two bubbles. When we went to England, we were coming from countries with few cases of Covid-19 into a country where it was rampant. As a result, all that was done was to keep us safe from what was happening outside, and hence people were allowed to move in clusters and meet in rooms etc.

“We understand that this has been taxing physically and mentally for all, but we have to comply with the rules laid down by the Ministry of Health. We continue to be in dialogue with them and represent the realities in the bubble.”