Kings XI Punjab CEO Satish Menon said on Monday (September 14) has admitted that there is still no clarity on whether the Australia and England players will be available for the first week of the upcoming 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting on the 19th September.
Mr. Menon has categorically denied Kolkata Knight Riders' CEO Venky Mysore's recent statement that the players – who are currently involved in the England-Australia limited-overs series in the UK, will be available for the initial matches of the IPL 2020 in the UAE.
The KXIP CEO has made it clear that “nobody has any clarity” on whether a smooth transfer of players from one bio-secure bubble in England to another in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be possible for upcoming the cash-rich T20 tournament.
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and England pacer Chris Jordan are currently involved in the series are set to play for the KXIP in the IPL 2020 in the UAE.
Mr. Menon told IANS on Monday: “Nobody has any clarity on that yet. The BCCI is supposed to come back on whether the quarantine can be reduced as they are coming from a bubble to [another] bubble. We don’t have any clarity as yet.”
On IPL 2020 preparations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the KXIP CEO stated: “From what I hear from the bubble, things are exactly as it was planned. We have been following the SoP that has been laid out by the BCCI and authorities.”
Notably, KXIP will start their IPL 13 campaign against Delhi Capitals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 20 and Menon is optimistic that the franchise will break the 12-year jinx this season by winning the maiden IPL trophy in the UAE.
He signed off by saying, “We are hopeful of winning the title this year. The format is one where anything can happen on a given day, so we will have to see how it goes.”
(With IANS Inputs)
