IPL schedule still awaited as COVID-19 cases increase in Abu Dhabi
COVID-19 related travel restrictions within the United Arab Emirates during the Indian Premier League (IPL) might have played a role in the delay of announcement of the schedule of the tournament, which is due to start in three weeks. An increase in the number of cases in the UAE has increased the rigorousness of mandatory checking, making travelling to Abu Dhabi more time consuming than before.
The Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium is scheduled to host a total of 21 group-stage matches. In addition to that, Abu Dhabi is the base for two teams, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, who will have to cross the border several times.
According to ESPNCricinfo, the IPL Governing Council members who are in the UAE have been speaking to officials of the Emirates Cricket Board – headed by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of culture, youth and social development – to try and get the matter resolved urgently.
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Although officials of the BCCI and IPL Governing Council have so far not commented on this, it seems to be no more than a matter of logistics, of synchronising team travel schedules so they comply with COVID-19-specific border entry regulations. Abu Dhabi Cricket CEO Matt Boucher believes the border issue, however, should not be too big a problem if everyone concerned follows the protocols put in place by the BCCI (for the event) and of the UAE government.
Boucher told ESPNCricinfo, “At the border, it’s either a DPI test or a PCR test, and it’s purely to protect the population of Abu Dhabi. Many hundreds of people are using the border every day, and it’s certainly not a hassle or an issue.
“It just has to be, of course, tailored into the event schedule with rotational testing. But the teams need to be tested in accordance with the protocols of the event, the UAE government, and the BCCI protocols for the event. And if those are in line with the testing procedures at the border, then the facilitation will take place.”
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The UAE authorities require all members taking part in the IPL – players, staff and officials alike to return negative tests 48 hours before they get to the border while travelling to Abu Dhabi. After that, with VIP lanes and police escorts in place, the delay shouldn’t be as much as some people fear, Boucher felt.
He said, “If Sunrisers Hyderabad is staying in Dubai, and playing in Abu Dhabi on a Wednesday, the team rotation for that test needs to take place 48 hours before they travel to Abu Dhabi. And they can then travel seamlessly back to Dubai. It shouldn’t be a sticking point.
“The match schedule and the testing of the players need to be aligned. It’s not an easy task, it needs to be thought out, it needs to be calculated, but the safety of the players and others is the most important thing. It’s not an international border, it’s a safety mechanism.”
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Similar logistics will apply for the Abu Dhabi-based teams, Boucher said. “For example, if Mumbai are playing in Dubai on Wednesday, then 48 hours before that match they need to have the PCR test to return from Dubai. That will be facilitated by a VIP lane and Dubai police escorts and Abu Dhabi police escorts. Upon their return to the Abu Dhabi border, the police will already have all the negative test reports, and they will seamlessly come through the border via a VIP lane.”
There have also been murmurs of some teams not being happy about playing games in the afternoon heat, with matches starting at 2pm local time – ten double-headers had tentatively been pencilled in by the IPL Governing Council when they announced the decision to shift the tournament to the UAE. Whether that is still a sticking point or not remains to be seen.