The Governing Council Of Indian Premier League Wants All The Teams To Travel To UAE On August 20

 

 

The governing council (GC) of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has already decided that they are going to ask all the franchises and their respective stakeholders so that their travel to UAE is delayed by a week approximately in a possible endeavor to set the protocols of Covid-19 in place for the spectacular edition that is going to take place this year- as they only travel to UAE by August 20.

A call has been taken by the Governing Council (GC) so that the final of the tournament has been postponed from the 8th of November to the 10 of the same month to give Star India, who are the broadcasters an extra couple of days in the week of Diwali and the start of the evening matches are advanced to 7.30 pm IST from 8 pm IST that is going to mean that the game in UAE will start at 6 pm.

By doing so, IPL has shifted from hosting the finals on a Sunday and has drifted away from its tradition. Those who have been tracking various viewpoints say that it is not going to matter at all of not having the final on a weekend as it is the week for Diwali.

The major focus of the discussion on Sunday between the members of GC was about requesting the stakeholders of IPL to travel to the UAE only on the 20th of August. It has been planned initially by most of the franchises to travel to UAE between 10th and 15th in the second week of August. They have already started work on accommodation and travel during these particular dates.

The view of the Governing Council stems from the fact that it is needed to put the protocols of COVID in place as these protocols are discussed in details with the stakeholders of the league and then they are going to coordinate with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and the UAE government before travel can begin. Almost all the franchises are in agreement with this particular decision.

All franchises who on the same day have landed in UAE are going to mean that they are going to create a bubble to their respective hotels from the airport, which is going to be the norm then for the next couple of months of IPL. Team officials have said that there is the logic in the decision by BCCI. Certain protocols are put in place by them and they have co-ordinated with the government of UAE to ensure the fact that these will be followed to the ‘T’. For example, we are going to travel by road between the cities of Abu Dhabi to Sharjah to Dubai. At every entry point and departure, they are going to be checked. They also laid out plans for two franchises who have different bio-secure bubbles co-ordinate with the protocols of each other on the match days. A lot of it is there in the hands of BCCI and they will get full co-operation from ECB.

Franchises are very much allowed to travel along with their full squads that are a maximum of 24 but it is expected of the teams to fly in with more working hands keeping in mind the fact that they are going to require net bowlers as well as fielders during training. General physicians will also be there who are unrelated to COVID along with individuals in all other essential categories.

Eight players from every franchise are going to travel from other countries along with Indians flying to UAE for every squad is not going to be limited to more than players numbering from 14 to 16. The GC of IPL is all set to say yes to all those teams who need the option to get the players to travel with the members of their family. These players are going to be completely in isolation. It is going to be a very depressing thing. Family members are pretty much okay to travel as long as they are going to be part of the same bubble that is bio-secure.

An official nod is expected by BCCI from the Central Government and a letter this going to give the green signal for traveling to the UAE in the coming 48 to 72 hours. According to sources, BCCI was in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and things are being worked out there. It has also been decided by GC to retain all the sponsors it has.