Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the BCCI was forced to move the IPL 2020 to UAE which has the deadly virus under control and laid out strict protocols for all the teams and their players once they land in UAE.
This includes a mandatory one-week quarantine period to be observed by all players, support staff and officials before they begin the tournament on September 19. This became a problem for players of England and Australia, who will be engaged in a limited-overs series, comprised of three T20Is and three ODIs, from 4-16 September.
This meant the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes amongst others would miss the first few games of their teams while observing the mandatory quarantine period.
However, a ray of hope has been unveiled by RCB chairman Sanjeev Churiwala, who addressed a virtual press conference and reasoned that given the England and Australia players will have been part of a bio-secure bubble in the UK, they might be exempted from the one-week quarantine mandated for all participants of the IPL.
A final decision on the matter, however, will be taken post discussion and deliberation with BCCI once the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are chalked out in its entirety and approved by the UAE government.
Churiwala said that the Australian players will land in UAE on September 17. It is understood that if the players and staff have not stepped out of the bubble through their emigration from the UK and carry a negative result, obtained from a test conducted not more than 96 hours before their arrival in UAE, there may be a possibility of relaxation of rules.
As many as 29 England and Australia players are spread across the eight IPL squads. The worst-hit could be Rajasthan Royals as some of their main players - such as Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Steven Smith, Ben Stokes, and Tom Curran - could be playing the bilateral series in England until September 16.
RCB has Australian players like Aaron Finch, Kane Richardson, and Joshua Phillipe featuring in the limited-overs series in the UK.
He also confirmed that South African trio of AB de Villiers, Chris Morris, and Dale Steyn will fly out of South Africa this weekend.
ESPNCricinfo reported that the trio of De Villiers, Morris, and Steyn have got the permission from the South African government to travel for the IPL.
Churiwala said it is "all clear" as far as the South African players' participation was concerned - De Villiers, Steyn, and Morris are currently without central contracts and hence do not need to participate in the ongoing culture camp organized by Cricket South Africa for contracted players.
RCB players that test negative for the COVID-19 will join a three-week training camp from August 29. All players, members of support staff will be made to sign a legal document mandating 100% adherence to the bio-bubble protocols.
(Cricbuzz/ESPNCricinfo inputs)
