The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has included former captain and current National Cricket Academy (NCA) head, Rahul Dravid, among others in its COVID-19 task force, as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) sent to state associations for the resumption of training and on-field action.
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Further, states a report by PTI, "players will have to sign a consent form before resuming training at their respective centres as per the standard operating procedure, which bars anyone above 60 years of age and individuals with underlying medical conditions from being part of the camp."
"For resumption of training at the NCA in Bengaluru, the COVID task force will include Dravid, a medical officer, a hygiene officer and BCCI AGM, Cricket Operations."
One major responsibility of the task force will be to communicate "clearly and regularly with the players, explaining measures being taken to manage risk, and the advice being given to individuals to follow the same and update of COVID19 cases to relevant higher management".
At the NCA also, like in respective state centres, players will have to sign the consent form before returning to training after a lengthy hiatus.
"All the players and staff including administrative staff of NCA shall be tested for COVID-19 (RT-PCR test) to detect the possibility of COVID 19 infection before the resumption of training," reads a part of the 100-page-long SOP.
"Prior to the commencement of National Cricket Academy, the players shall submit a written undertaking to abide by all the protocols prescribed in this SOP and various Government orders issued from time to time in the context of COVID19 prevention."
Usually beginning in August, the domestic season is set to be trimmed due to the ongoing health crisis, with India being among the hardest-hit countries by the pandemic.
"The health and safety of players, staff and stakeholders will be the sole responsibility of respective State Cricket Associations," read the BCCI guidelines on the resumption of cricket, which the PTI is in possession of.
Until "suitable guidelines are issued by the Government", those support staff, officials and ground staff aged above 60 and people dealing with some medical condition aren't allowed to attend the training camp, as part of the risk-avoiding measures.
Strict health safety protocols will have to be followed by all individuals while travelling to the stadiums for training.
"Before the commencement of the camp, the medical team should acquire travel and medical history (past 2 weeks) of all players and staff through an online questionnaire. Any player and staff suspected to have COVID-19-like symptoms should undergo PCR tests," the PTI report of the SOP guidelines stated.
