All players coming from UK to UAE for IPL must undergo 6 days of quarantine: BCCI

Cricket Desk: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed all franchises that every player coming to UAE from the UK will have to undergo six days of hard quarantine before they can join the existing team bubbles for the resumption of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Speaking to ANI, a franchise official confirmed the development. "The BCCI has informed us that every player coming in from UK to UAE will have to undergo six days of quarantine before they can join the team bubbles. Obviously, the bubble to bubble transfer from UK to UAE no longer stands keeping in mind the current scenario," the official said.

With the final Test between India and England in Manchester cancelled, IPL franchises on Friday got in touch with charter companies to fly out their players from Manchester to UAE for the resumption of the cash-rich league.

IN fact, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is arranging a charter flight to get Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj into Dubai on Sunday morning.

"Yes, we have arranged a charter flight for Virat and Siraj, both of them will be flying out at 11:30 PM UK time on Saturday and they will reach Dubai early Sunday morning. Safe transit of players is the utmost priority for RCB. They will undergo 6-day quarantine there before joining the team bubble," a team source told ANI.

Chennai Super Kings is looking to get the Indian players who are part of the team to Dubai by Saturday. CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan confirmed the development and said the team is keeping fingers crossed that the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Cheteshwar Pujara can fly into Dubai on Saturday. "Now that the Test match is off, we are looking to get the CSK boys into Dubai tomorrow," he said on Friday.

The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Mumbai Indians.

The action will then shift to Abu Dhabi where Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sharjah will host its first game on September 24 when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings. In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah, and 8 in Abu Dhabi.

The board has come up with a 46-page health advisory that lays down all the pointers that everyone associated with the IPL needs to follow in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the league.