The much-awaited 13th edition of the premier T20 tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off in UAE from today. With Covid-19 threat on in India, the BCCI chose to hold the tourney in UAE amidst safety protocols.
After safety standard protocol rules, quarantine and mandatory tests, all players from eight teams have hit the ground for training.
All staff serving the IPL 2020 teams will be wearing masks and gloves. They will also be tested every three days and will not leave the hotel for three months.
They will not serve other guests and will remain in the team bubble/team’s side of the hotel kitchen only. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that media would not be allowed in the cricket stadium due to strict health safety protocols in the wake of Covid-19.The guidelines also stated that there will be no press conference held before the match and a virtual media conference will be held after all matches. However, it has allowed the media registrations for UAE media only.
If anyone gets infected with Covid-19 at any point during this whole process, they’ll be quarantined until they recovered. Once the doctors have determined that they have beaten the virus, they will be tested again, twice within 24 hours, and only if they clear those tests they’ll be allowed to return to their teams.At the end of the day, safety matters.