Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) chairman Sanjeev Churiwala has opined that the England and Australian players who are contractually bound with the franchise might not have to go under the mandatory quarantine period in the UAE.
The reason being England and Australia will play the bilateral series during which they would be already under a bio-secure bubble. As the series will end on 16th September, they would directly be flown back to the UAE. So, they would be coming from a controlled environment.
Among Australian players, RCB has their white-ball captain Aaron Finch, pacer Kane Richardson and Josh Philippe. The allrounder Moeen Ali is the only England player in RCB’s squad. These players will feature in the three-match T20I series followed by the ODI series which is scheduled to start from 4th September in England.
The IPL 2020 starts on September 19 and, in all likelihood, all the English and Australian players will land in the UAE via a chartered flight on September 17, making them available for their respective team’s opening match, according to RCB chairman.
“It is very clear from BCCI SOP that each and every player has to go through quarantine (in UAE). However, the players from England and Australia would already be in a bio-bubble as they would be playing the series there,” said Churiwala in a virtual press conference ahead of RCB players’ departure to UAE on Friday (August 21).
After landing in the UAE, they will have to clear the COVID-19 test before entering the tournament’s bio-secure bubble.
“If they continue to remain in that bio-bubble and we can send a charter plane then they are as secure as other payers. But they will have to go through COVID testing procedures after landing. It will be more stringent in their case. There will be no compromise on safety,” added Churiwala.
South Africa player will join RCB on August 22:
South Africa players in RCB, AB de Villiers Chris Morris and Dale Steyn are lynchpins for the franchise. They will join the team in the UAE on August 22. The only Sri Lankan player Isuru Udana, bought in IPL 2020 auction, will land on 1st September.
“South Africa players will arrive on August 22, September 17 for England and Australia players, Sri Lanka on September 1. There could be slight change in this schedule,” he said.
The IPL 2020 will have 60 matches played in 53 days duration. The grand finale of the league will be played on 10th November.