The IPL 2020 will begin in September in the UAE and the preparations for this are in full swing. All teams are working on plans to leave for the UAE. We have also reported that CSK is the first team to depart early in August. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the BCCI is also preparing to issue strict guidelines to protect against Corona in the UAE.
As per the BCCI officials earlier, the initial matches will be without the audience. Commentators will also sit at a distance of six feet. The matches will not see the crowd as before however there is a possibility of the limited crowd. There will be no more than 15 players in the dressing room, the rest of the squad will be in hotel rooms. Social distancing will be followed in the post-match-award presentation and the corona test of all players will be examined four times in 14 days ( sometimes every day).
Some criteria have been set by the Indian Cricket Board for the IPL to be held in the UAE from September to November. This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will soon be revealed to the franchises of IPL. However, the board has not yet received permission from the government to conduct the IPL in the UAE.
A BCCI official said that this SOP would not only be for the players but also their wives, girlfriends (if they are permitted), and franchise owners would have to live in a bio-secure environment. Once someone starts living in a bio-secure environment, they cannot get out of it again. If he breaks it then he will not be able to join again.
According to media reports, the franchise will decide whether the family members of the players can travel with them or not. But we have put in place a protocol, in which everyone, even the bus drivers of the team, cannot leave the bio-bubble. The SOP will be handed over to the franchisees at a meeting to be held next week. If they have a complaint, they can talk to the board about it.
Each player will undergo four COVID-19 tests in a span of two weeks before the tournament begins. Two tests will be conducted before departure in India and two during the quarantine in the United Arab Emirates. The SOP is modeled on the norms formulated by the England and Wales Cricket Board for the Test series against the West Indies. All these SOP’s will be discussed in the ICC Governing Council meeting on the 2nd of August.