The IPL 2020 will be held in the UAE entirely for the first time owing to the Coronavirus situation in India. Therefore, the BCCI has released a 16-page SOP for the eight franchises to follow strictly. This also means that the franchises will have to observe the quarantine period on arrival in the UAE.

All the eight franchises were trying to negotiate a three-day quarantine period, but now as per reports of the Indian Express, they have agreed to undergo a 6-day quarantine period after arriving in the Emirates.

“We can’t take chances on health issues and team members will observe a six-day quarantine period,” an IPL franchise official told The Indian Express.

IPL 2020: “One positive case can kill IPL" Ness Wadia calls for strict compliance of BCCI SOP

As per the Dubai government health protocol, a PCR test needs to be done within 96 hours before embarking and take one after reaching there. Only those tested positive will be quarantined for 14 days. Downloading the ALHOSN App, the official digital platform for Covid-19 testing in the United Arab Emirates, however, is mandatory.

All the franchises have decided to play it safe and will leave after August 20 and set practice camps in UAE. It is learnt that every franchise will have to arrange its own bio-security, while a BCCI-appointed agency will supervise the whole thing. This paper understands that the BCCI is in talks with a couple of agencies.

They have also agreed to keep their squad strength to 24, in the meeting held in the aftermath of VIVO pulling out as the title sponsor for this year’s tournament.

“The BCCI has informed us orally that Vivo is not there,” said the franchise official.

The Board is expected to issue a new RFP (Request for Proposal) to pick a replacement sponsor – likely short-term for the 2020 season.