The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have said that they are ready to quarantine foreign players of their respective teams for 14 days in between the coronavirus outbreak. However, they are waiting for the authorities for the visa. As of now, the government has stopped the entry of people from other countries and regions till March 31.
Speaking to IANS, “Yes, the fresh advisory calls for 14-day quarantine for travel from some countries and if the stance remains the same post March 31, that shouldn’t be an issue. If we get a clearance from the government and visas are issued, then quarantining the players shouldn’t be a big deal. In such a scenario, we can fly them into the country in the first week of April and follow the process of 14-day quarantine.”
“But first, the foreign players need to be given the visa and that is why we need to wait till March 31 to see what the government decides going forward,” the source added.
Another IPL official said that while there was no decision taken over IPL’s future amid the concern but the meetings will take place every week and foreign players will need a 5-day break before they will start playing.
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“No decision was made and to be honest, the idea wasn’t to take a call. It was aimed more towards understanding the general scenario and how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the world. It was more about taking stock of the situation. But, one thing that we did discuss was that foreign players will need a 5-day window to acclimatise once they arrive in India,” the source added.
“But before that, we need to understand if and when the government will relax the travel advisory and foreign players will indeed be allowed to come in. Unless the government issues fresh advisory, it will be impossible to gauge when the foreign players will come in and when we can start the tournament. At present, we need to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the situation improves and the health and sports departments give the necessary go-ahead to organise the tournament with foreign players,” the official told IANS.
