A large number of foreign players will be joining their respective IPL teams in Dubai later and missing the initial few matches. As per a report of ESPNCricinfo, the BCCI’s SOP is even stricter for those arriving late to the league.
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Tougher SOPs waiting
Players joining their respective teams in Dubai after the bilateral series between England and Australia would need to follow the quarantine procedures set by the UAE government and the BCCI upon arrival. According to the COVID-19 protocols set by the UAE government the person arriving in the country would need to through a week-long quarantine and testing before departure and after arrival. As far the knowledge of the franchises is concerned, they believe that after the UAE government’s rules are followed, the players coming in late should be allowed to move from one bubble to another and then can straightway play the league. They must carry a negative test report which ensure the public safety.
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But ESPNCricinfo suggests that the IPL authority has something else planned for the players joining late. As per the BCCI’s guidelines are concerned, the report on ESPNCricinfo claims that the final SOPs for the late arrivals would be tougher and stricter.
Situation in CPL
The Caribbean Premier League scheduled to begin on August 18 had similar issues. Moving from ‘bubble to bubble’ of players was called ‘potential threat’ by CPL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Akshay Mansingh. “For those of you coming from the English tour, I just want to point out the difference between the two bubbles,” Mansingh said in an e-mail. He added, “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.”
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Mansingh continued to explain, “In Trinidad, there remain relatively low number of cases and they see anyone coming in from outside as a potential threat. Hence the bubble here is to keep their citizens safe from people coming from outside; even if you are corning from a country with low numbers of Covid-19 cases. Irrespective of where you are coming from (including Trinidadian citizens coming from overseas) the law of the land is that all have to quarantine for two weeks, either in a Government facility or in designated hotels. They have not restricted the movements of their citizens as they have not had large community spread.”
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