While nothing concrete came out of the apex council meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday (July 17), especially as the board awaits a decision from the ICC on the fate of the T20 World Cup before it can confirm a new window for the IPL 2020, UAE seems to have been conveyed as the likely venue for the league's 13th edition.
In line with that, it is reported, IPL franchises have already begun preparing for air travel, hotel facilities they would be using if the league is officially moved to the Middle East.
An official from one of the eight franchises speaking to IANS said they have kickstarted their logistics planning, pertinently the hotel they wish to make the players stay at in Abu Dhabi and how the training and preparation will take place for the tournament.
"You need to be smart and plan early," the official said. "We have been given the required inputs and are planning accordingly. We have actually decided on the hotel we wish to stay at in Abu Dhabi and how exactly we will go through the process of flying in and going through the necessary quarantine period once in UAE. We will obviously need to brush up with the then health guidelines of the country."
The plan regarding the isolation period, said another official of a former champion franchise, is to quarantine players and all else in India before flying across to the UAE.
"We are looking at having the boys come together in India. Go through a period of spending time in a bio-secure environment and then get our tests done and head to UAE," the official said.
"The reason behind that is we are all staying at home. So, if one of us is asymptomatic, we have the risk of infecting others. That is why it is better to go through a couple of weeks of isolation and testing here in the country before heading out."
On being queried about the travel plan, the official said chartered planes are the most feasible, considering normal flight schedules may or may not start and each team will have around 35-40 people units going there at a time.
"I think most teams, if not all, are already looking at hiring chartered planes. You never know if we will have regular flights operating by the end of August and most teams would wish to be in the UAE by the last week of August or at max the first week of September."
"So, in such a scenario, the best way is to hire chartered planes as we will all have around 35-40 people flying to UAE. The number of members obviously increases a bit when you are headed outside and have restrictions in movement in times like these."
One other franchise official disagreed, however, saying they are looking at first-class travel if flights start re-operating soon. This franchise isn't looking to have the squad assemble in India, instead do that directly in UAE.
"To be honest, if you ask me, we as a franchise are looking at first-class travel for our players as that means better distancing," the official said.
"The sole reason is that we might not be assembling in India and be directly heading to UAE from each of our homes after doing necessary COVID-19-related tests."
"So, in such a scenario, you cannot expect the owners to pay for 8-10 chartered trips. But yes, if normal flights don't start operating then it is a different scenario."
On the presence of overseas players, it seems the consensus within all franchises is that they shall all directly travel to the UAE and not arrive in India, quarantine and then follow the same process in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
"We have been having our calls and discussions on how we are all planning the logistics and stuff and I can assure you almost all of us are of the opinion that foreign players will meet the teams directly in UAE as that makes more sense."
"Imagine someone first coming to India, spending 10-14 days in quarantine over here and then again heading to UAE and going through their quarantine process. The foreigners are likely to join in directly unless some franchises change any plan in the eleventh hour," the official concluded.
(Inputs from IANS)
