The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released a 46-page advisory for the UAE-leg of the Indian Premier League 2021. Earlier, the board had told the franchises to ensure full vaccination of the players before the resumption of the league. Now, they have released a big advisory with protocols to be followed during the last 31 games of the season.
IPL 2021 got suspended in May after multiple Covid-19 positive cases arrived inside the bio-bubble. Now, the league is all set to resume for the second leg in the UAE from 19 September. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians will lock horns in the first game.
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As per the new guidelines by BCCI, players have to complete six-day quarantine before entering into the team bio-bubble.
Secondly, the board has also decided to place 14 bio-bubbles in place, of which eight will belong to the franchises, and the rest will be for Match officials and match management team- three bubbles, broadcast commentators, and crew- three bubbles.
Speaking about the same, the health advisory explained in detail the various pointers the franchisees need to follow during the second phase of the IPL. “Within the Bio-Secure Environment, 14 bubbles will be created as mentioned below: Franchise teams and support staff – 8 Bubble, Match Officials & Match Management Team – 3 Bubbles, Broadcast Commentators and crew – 3 Bubbles.”
“All franchise team members must quarantine in their hotel room for 6 full days before entering the bubble. Upon arrival and before commencing any group training activities, all team members who will be included in the bubble will follow the below-mentioned COVID-19 RT-PCR testing plan. A nasopharyngeal swab will be taken for testing. Test reports are available within 8-12 hours after sample collection,” states the health advisory to InsideSport.
Apart from the Bio-Bubble restrictions, the board has also modified the travel thing with the board allowing only the members travelling with only their dedicated vehicles.
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“During the IPL 2021, members within a bubble must travel only in the dedicated vehicles from a fleet of buses and cars accredited by BCCI, which will be sanitized regularly. The drivers of all such vehicles will also be in the respective bubbles, tested regularly for COVID-19, and undergo temperature screening,” states the advisory.
Apart from that, the BCCI has allowed bubble-to-bubble transfers for teams who are directly coming from playing one series. These teams and players will not serve mandatory quarantine.
“Players and team support staff coming directly from the bubble created for the England vs India series, Sri Lanka vs South Africa series and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) may be permitted to join the franchise squad without serving the mandatory quarantine period, provided they satisfy the below-mentioned criteria. Commentators and broadcast crew who are working on the above three series’ can also avail bubble to bubble transfers provided they satisfy the criteria,” states the advisory.
