7 Franchises of the IPL have agreed to bring back England and Australian players from Manchester on a charter flight to Dubai. Australia are touring England to play a white-ball series against England. The T20s began on September 4 and will be played in Southampton. The ODIs will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester from September 11 and will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
The England vs Australia series ends on the 16th of September, after which the players who are participating in the IPL will travel to UAE to join their respective squads. They will be transferred from the England bio bubble, directly to the IPL bio bubble, so they can avoid quarantine and be available from the first day of the league.
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Rs 1 crore being spent to bring 22 players by Charter flight to IPL in UAE
An IPL official has confirmed that the franchises have agreed to pay Rs 1 crore cost to book a charter flight to bring 22 players who are participating in the England vs Australia series, being held in the UK. In traveling through a charter plane the players would avoid the mandatory quarantine, as they would directly be transferred from England’s bio bubble to the IPL bio bubble.
“It has all been taken care of. The idea is that they are not outside of the bubble. If we had flown them by commercial flights, they would have had to undergo quarantine. And cost-wise also it would have been dearer as each player will have to be flown by business class. Close to Rs 1 crore for 22 players is not much I suppose,” IPL official told Mumbai Mirror
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players would still have to go through the six-day quarantine time in Abu Dhabi. They would however still be ready for KKR’s opening match against MI on September 23. The only franchise that doesn’t need the charter service is Mumbai Indians, as their complete squad has already reached UAE.
Charter Flight carrying players will in a different airport
The Charter flight which will carry the England and Australia players will land at a different airport, not landing at the Dubai International airport. The players will board the charter flight on September 17 after the bilateral series ends on 16th September. They will reach the airport in a bus which will be sanitized.
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The flight will be sanitized as well. As the charter plane will land, from there all seven franchises have been asked to arrange separate vehicles for their players. The vehicles should have also been a part of the bio-bubble in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
