After the news of Australia’s limited-overs tour to England in September was confirmed the buzz was that players of both teams will miss out on the starting matches of IPL 2020. The two sides will play a three-match ODI and T20I series respectively in the first half of September.
With IPL 2020 starting on September 19 it was almost certain that players like Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Moeen Ali, David Warner and others will miss the first week of IPL in the UAE. But now the recent update regarding their participation imply that they could be available for the start of IPL 2020 without having to experience a quarantine period when they reach the UAE.
England and Australia players to remain available from the start of IPL 2020
In a virtual press conversation, RCB chairman Sanjeev Churiwala reflected that given the England and Australia players will have been part of a bio-secure balloon during their series in the UK, there is a possibility that they may be spared from the one-week quarantine which is necessary for all participants of the IPL.
Meanwhile, the ultimate decision on the subject will be taken following dialogue and deliberation with BCCI once the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) is chalked out in its completeness and accepted by the UAE government.
Furthermore, the RCB chairman affirmed their new RCB acquisition Australia’s white-ball skipper Aaron Finch will arrive UAE on September 17. Besides Finch, RCB has Moeen Ali, Kane Richardson and Joshua Phillipe featuring in the limited-overs series in England. He also added that the South African players in the team AB de Villiers, Chris Morris and Dale Steyn will join the team in the UAE on August 22.
According to the draft SOP, every team member will have to endure a mandatory seven-day quarantine in the team hotel. In this time, they will undergo test thrice on days 1, 3 and 6 sequentially.
Once all three outcomes come back negative, the squad can then start their preparation. After that, all squad members will be tested on the fifth day of every week throughout IPL 2020.
