If reports are to be believed, all ten franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season are expected to reach Mumbai by March 8 and will then start training for the tournament by March 14-15.
This comes after a meeting was held by the Maharashtra government with BCCI's Acting CEO Hemang Amin in which key members of the Mumbai Cricket Association were also present, on March 2, 2022.
Aaditya Thackeray and Eknath Shinde also attended the meeting with MCA officials and Amin.
A source close to the developments told ANI that the franchises are likely to begin practice from March 14-15 onwards, after reaching Mumbai by March 8 and quarantining for 3-5 days.
"Teams will start practicing most likely by March 14-15 onwards. Players and support staff will start coming to Mumbai around March 8 for the IPL. The participants who will be part of the bubble will undergo strict quarantine for 3-5 days before entering their respective bubbles. All participants will undergo pre-travel RT-PCR testing 48 hours before their scheduled travel from their home destination to Mumbai,” a source told ANI.
“While in quarantine, they will undergo in-room RT-PCR testing three times, first on day 1, second on day 3, and the final one on day 5. In case of three days quarantine, they will get tested every day. If all three test results are negative, they will be permitted to exit quarantine and commence team activities,” the source added.
The IPL 2022, which will be held from March 26-May 29, will have 70 league matches which will be played at four venues across Mumbai and Pune. The venue for the playoff matches will be decided later. Also, there will be 12 doubleheaders featuring two matches per day.
Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium will host 20 matches while 15 matches will be played at Brabourne Stadium (CCI). DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai will host 20 matches while Pune's MCA International Stadium will conduct 15 matches.
MCA Ground in Thane and Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai are part of five grounds that have been allowed for the training of all ten teams by the BCCI.
"As all the teams will be playing matches across the four venues in Mumbai, Pune and they will also have practice sessions at various practice facilities. A green corridor will need to be created for their movement so that the bio bubbles are maintained. BCCI will follow the protocols of the biosecure movement for all the participants in the bubble," the source stated.
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"During the travel to Navi Mumbai and Pune, it will be ideal to have a safe passage and smooth movement to avoid delays. If any member of a team ends up testing positive for COVID-19, they are likely to be allowed quarantine in the hotel and special arrangements will be made for that scenario," added the source.
The ten franchises have been divided into two groups of five.
Group A: Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Lucknow Super Giants.
Group B will consist of: Chennai Super Kings, Sunrises Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, and Gujarat Titans.
(ANI inputs)
