IPL 2020: BCCI to conduct three COVID tests in a week on arrival in UAE; final SOPs in drafts

IPL 13 will be played in UAE from Sept 19-Nov 10.

The preparations for the IPL 2020 to be held in UAE have begun after BCCI announced the dates of the tournament and they are in process of finalizing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

It has come to the knowledge that the BCCI plans on testing each player and staff member of all the eight IPL franchises thrice in a week on arrival in the UAE. The IPL is slated to begin on September 19 and the final will be played on November 10.

As per reports of The Hindu, according to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), in addition to a mandatory PCR test “within 96 hours preceding departure”, every player and support staff member will have to get three negative test results during the week-long quarantine in the UAE to be allowed into the bio-secure bubble.

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The final draft of the SOP will be shared with the franchises later this week.

“There will be three tests: on the day of arrival, on the third and the sixth day. Once you get the third negative result, only then will an individual be allowed to enter the bubble. After that, everyone in the bubble will be tested every fifth day till the tournament is over,” an IPL insider revealed.

The BCCI is also planning to make training facilities accessible to all eight teams for pre-tournament camps in the UAE from August 27.

Except for the Chennai Super Kings, who are looking to fly to UAE on or near August 10, the other teams are scheduled to depart on August 19-20. The date of departure for most teams is in sync with serving the mandatory week-long quarantine before beginning on-field preparations on August 27.

The final SOPs and the schedule of the tournament will only be shared formally after BCCI receives an official nod from the central government, which should come ‘any time’, as per sources. The operative rules — stipulating the training schedule, precisely prepared by IPL staff in association with the event management partner — will also be sent to all the franchises.

“We just hope that there will be no favoritism when it comes to stuff like the number of training sessions under lights allotted to teams,” said a franchise official.