Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have reached the IPL 2020 hosting venue — the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Thursday (20th August). But they would have to go under the mandatory quarantine period before starting their practice sessions.
Rajasthan Royals players followed full safety rules as they were spotted wearing PPE kits when they landed on Dubai through the charter flight. They had also worn pink colour mask matching with jersey colour.
KKR player landed in Abu Dhabi and have checked-in their hotel to follow the safety protocols. KXIP, with their star players KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, arrived in Dubai.
However, franchises mostly Indian players have reached Dubai. The overseas players are yet to depart for the UAE.
KKR, KXIP and Royals share their arrival news on social media:
RR, KKR and KXIP in their respective official social media accounts shared the picture of players arriving in the UAE.
Make some noise for the desi boys! ?#SaddaPunjab #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/8mH9LCpNpm
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 20, 2020
#SaddaSquad ♥️?
Can you identify each one of them with the ? on? ?#SaddaPunjab #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/H7J5NRujvC
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 20, 2020
Marhaba, UAE. ?#HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily pic.twitter.com/fHoymGObdg
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 20, 2020
Touchdown ? Abu Dhabi?
?After a long day of travel, sanitising and maintaining strict protocols, our Indian Knights have safely checked in to their hotel Rooms in the capital city of the UAE!#IPL2020, here we come! ?@imkuldeep18 @RealShubmanGill @prasidh43 @rinkusingh235 pic.twitter.com/kONxoBDMjx
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) August 20, 2020
England and Australian players of the franchises might miss some action in the IPL owing to their national duty. England and Australia have bilateral series scheduled from four September to 16 September and the IPL is scheduled to begin from 19th September.
So, the gap between the two events is short and they would have to also go through a quarantine period. Thus, they might miss the opening matches. However, RCB Chairman earlier informed they might not necessarily go through the isolation period because they would come through a controlled environment.
CSK and RCB to land the UAE today:
Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teams will arrive in the UAE on Friday (21st August). On the other hand, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will land there during the weekend.
However, nobody had expected that the IPL 2020 would be hosted this year but BCCI was successful in implementing their plans. A full-fledged league will be played with Sixty games being scheduled over 53 days across three venues – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.