On Saturday, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Rajasthan Royals, Jake Lush McCrum went on to confirm that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made amends in the SOPs for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) and now, the foreign players from England and Australia will be available from the first match of the T20 tournament.
England and Australia will be locking horns with each other for three T20Is and three ODIs, beginning September 4 and it will end on September 16, and earlier the BCCI had indicated to franchises that there will be no relaxation on the mandatory seven-day quarantine period that players had to undergo after arriving in the UAE.
However, in an exclusive interaction with ANI, the Rajasthan Royals’ COO said, “The BCCI protocols have actually been updated in the last few days and I’m pleased to say our English and Australian stars playing in the series pre IPL should be available for our first IPL match. Either way, we have a quality squad with the depth to manage any situation.”
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He further added, “The English and Australian players will be competing against each other in a high-quality series right before the IPL which has many positives, the most important being it will enable them to be at full match fitness. I’m sure they will hit the ground running in the UAE for the IPL.”
Royals have the most number of England and Australia players in their squad, with Steve Smith leading the franchise. Several stalwarts such as Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer are also a part of the team.
Shedding the light on how the things will unfold if a player ends up testing positive, McCrum said, “Suspected or positive cases will immediately be isolated from the team and the case will be managed by the team doctor in accordance with the IPL medical team. Contract tracing will begin immediately. The BCCI has put together a list of accredited hospitals that will be fully equipped to handle all such cases. “
As per SOPs issued by the BCCI, the players have to undergo RT-PCR tests on Day 1, 3, and 6 of the quarantine phase and then they will be allowed to enter the bio-bubble provided they test negative on all three occasions.
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The 13th edition of the IPL will be played for 53 days, between September 19 and November 10, across three venues — Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai. The final match is scheduled to be played on a weekday, i.e. Tuesday, for the first time in the history of the T20 tournament.
This time, both the afternoon and evening games are expected to be played half-an-hour earlier than usual.
