Amid the novel Coronavirus outbreak, the IPL franchises are ready to quarantine their overseas cricketers for a period of two weeks if the travel advisories issued by the government calls for the same.
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However, the biggest concern currently is the issuance of visa to foreign players. As of now, the government has banned entry of people from specific countries and regions till March 31.
On Monday (March 16), the government issued an advisory as per which passengers coming from/transiting through UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait need to go through compulsory quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days.
Furthermore, it prohibited travel of passengers from member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and United Kingdom to India with effect from March 18.
Speaking to IANS, an official of one of the franchises said that the teams were prepared for a scenario wherein overseas stars will have to be quarantined for a 14-day period once allowed to fly into the country.
"Yes, the fresh advisory calls for 14-day quarantine for travel from some countries and if the stance remains the same post March 31, that shouldn't be an issue. If we get a clearance from the government and visas are issued, then quarantining the players shouldn't be a big deal. In such a scenario, we can fly them into the country in the first week of April and follow the process of 14-day quarantine.
"But first, the foreign players need to be given the visa and that is why we need to wait till March 31 to see what the government decides going forward."
Commenting on the fate of the tournament, an IPL official who attended the conference call on Monday (March 16) said there was no decision made. However, he confirmed that the meetings will happen every week and also that foreign players will need a 5-day window before they can take the field.
"No decision was made and to be honest, the idea wasn't to take a call. It was aimed more towards understanding the general scenario and how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the world. It was more about taking stock of the situation. But, one thing that we did discuss was that foreign players will need a 5-day window to acclimatise once they arrive in India.
"But before that, we need to understand if and when the government will relax the travel advisory and foreign players will indeed be allowed to come in. Unless the government issues fresh advisory, it will be impossible to gauge when the foreign players will come in and when we can start the tournament.
"At present, we need to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the situation improves and the health and sports departments give the necessary go-ahead to organise the tournament with foreign players," the official told IANS.
It remains to be seen if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be able to host Indian Premier League 2020 from April 15, given the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country. The T20 league was rescheduled from March 29 to mid-April due to the pandemic last week.
(With IANS inputs)
