England, Australia Cricketers taking part in IPL wouldn’t require going through quarantine: Sanjeev Churiwala, RCB Chairman

The one-week quarantine period mandated for all members taking part in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE will not be required to be maintained by England and Australian Cricketers, stated RCB chairman Sanjeev Churiwala.

The reason stated is that players from both countries will have already maintained a bio-secure bubble during the limited-overs series between the two teams in the UK. A final decision on the matter, however, will be taken post discussion and deliberation with BCCI once the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) is chalked out in its entirety and approved by the UAE government.

In a media interaction ahead of the RCB’s departure to the United Arab Emirates, Churiwala said, “It is very clear from BCCI SOP that each and every player has to go through quarantine (in UAE). However, the players from England and Australia would already be in a bio-bubble as they would be playing the series there.”

ALSO READ: BCCI officially announces Dream11 as title sponsors for this year’s IPL

“If they continue to remain in that bio-bubble and we can send a charter plane then they are as secure as other payers. But they will have to go through COVID testing procedures after landing. It will be more stringent in their case. There will be no compromise on safety.”

29 players from Australia and England will be participating in the IPL across eight franchises, out of which Australian captain Aaron Finch, Moeen Ali, Kane Richardson and Joshua Philippe will be joining the RCB camp. According to Churiwala, the Australian players will land on the UAE on September 17, a day after the last One Day International in Manchester.

Both Finch and Richardson, along with Joshua Philippe (not in picture) are part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in this year’s IPL

It is understood that if the players and staff have not stepped out of the bubble through their emigration from the UK and carry a negative result, obtained from a test conducted not more than 96 hours before their arrival in UAE, there may be a possibility of relaxation of rules.

The Standard Operating Procedure draft says that every squad member will have to undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine in the team hotel. The members will be tested thrice during this time period on the 1st, 3rd, and 6th day. The squad will begin training once all three results come back negative. After that, all squad members will be tested on the fifth day of every week throughout the tournament.

Churiwala also confirmed that South African Cricketers AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Chris Morris will be joining the team the day after tomorrow. The contracted South Africa players in the IPL will be free after August 22, following which they will fly to the UAE.

ALSO READ: IPL 2020: 3 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Players who can win the Orange Cap in UAE | Most runs in IPL 2020

Churiwala elaborated on the accommodation for the squad upon reaching the UAE. He said, “We wanted an exclusive facility in the centre so the players have short travel time (between Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah) and there is 100 per cent compliance of the bio-bubble. We have booked the entire block which has 155 rooms with exclusive facilities like team rooms, gym and dining. All the hotel staff will also be tested to ensure more safety.”

Considering that the family members too strictly need to adhere to the tournament protocols, most of the RCB players will be travelling without their children and companions this time.

“It is a personal choice of the players but as far as I know, most of the players are not travelling with families. If they do, they will strictly have to follow the BCCI SOP,” Churiwala added.