The England and Australia players who are currently involved in the bilateral series in England are unlikely to get any relaxation in the quarantine protocols when they arrive in UAE for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) later this month. Both the teams are currently playing the three-match T20I series which will be followed by three ODIs.
The ODI series will end on September 16, just three days before IPL 2020 starts in Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, the England and Australia players will land in UAE on September 17. And any chances of seeing them in action straightaway is highly unlikely as they will have to be in the mandatory six-day quarantine.
There were some arguments from the franchise officials, including RCB Chairman Sanjeev Churiwala, that since the players would already be in a bio-bubble and will be arriving in UAE via a charter plane, there could be scope for relaxing the rules. But according to Cricbuzz, the chance of players getting the relaxation is unlikely.
The report stated that the BCCI had made the schedule keeping in mind these protocols and other health measures and therefore would require all the players arriving from England to quarantine themselves for six days on their arrival to UAE. As per the league’s Standard Operating Procedures, they’ll have to test negative on Days 1, 3 and 6 to be eligible to join the team.
Thus the players will not be eligible to play before September 24. By that time, all the teams will have played a minimum of one game each, with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings playing two. Rajasthan Royals will be the most affected team with the likes of Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Andrew Tye in their squad. Royals will also have to name a new captain for the first game since Smith is their full-time captain.
Similarly, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner will also miss the side’s first game along with Jonny Bairstow.
Here are the list of the players who are set to miss the first week of IPL 2020:
Rajasthan Royals: Steven Smith, Andrew Tye, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Billy Stanlake, Jonny Bairstow
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa, Joshua Phillipe, Moeen Ali
Chennai Super Kings: Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran
Mumbai Indians: Nathan Coulter-Nile
Kolkata Knight Riders: Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton
Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan
Delhi Capitals: Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey