The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has already set the floor blazing after the organisers announced the full schedule. It will replica of last year’s final where defending champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings in the opener on September 19 in Dubai.

Meanwhile, due to the protocols in place due to COVID-19, many players will miss the first week of action in IPL 2020. Incidentally, England and Australian cricketers will not get any quarantine relaxation when they arrive in the UAE. Both teams are currently playing a T20I series and other three-match series ODI series will follow.

The ODI showdown ends on September 16 – three days prior to the commencement of IPL. The cricketers are likely to touch the gulf country on the next and will miss the first few matches. While a few have argued to give the cricketers some relaxation as the players are already coming from a bio-secure bubble; but it is unlikely to happen, a report in Cricbuzz suggests.

The report also added that the organisers made the schedule keeping in mind these protocols, and the players will have to follow. As per the league’s Standard Operating Procedures, they’ll have to test negative on Days 1, 3 and 6 to be eligible to join the team.

As a result, by the time the cricketers are eligible to play, all teams would have already played a minimum of one game with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings playing two.

Here is the list of players who will miss the first week of IPL 2020:

Rajasthan Royals: Steven Smith, Andrew Tye, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Billy Stanlake, Jonny Bairstow

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa, Joshua Phillipe, Moeen Ali

Chennai Super Kings: Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran

Mumbai Indians: Nathan Coulter-Nile

Kolkata Knight Riders: Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton

Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan

Delhi Capitals: Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey

IPL 2020: Full Coverage