Cricket has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In IPL, to protect the players and teams from this disease, the board has some SOPs. According to this, every player has to go through a week of the quarantine period before joining the practice sessions or teams. However, all the teams have arrived in the UAE, and have completed their quarantine period.
Meanwhile, in England, the bilateral series is going on between England and Australia. The series will finish on 17th September. Players from Australia and England are likely to arrive in the UAE, the day after the series will finish. According to some sources, it was speculated that Australian and English players will not have to go through the quarantine period as they are coming from one biosecure bubble to another. Now, it is being said that there will be no such relaxation for any players coming to play the tournament. For the utmost safety of each and every member, the SOPs will be the same for everyone.
As per SOP’s, players arriving from England will have to stay in quarantine for 7 days. Moreover, they will have to test negative on day 1, 3, and 6, only after that, they will be eligible to join the team. It means that players of England and Australia, those who are playing the series in England now, can be a part of their respective IPL franchise from 24 September. By when each team will have played at least one game each. Teams who are mostly dependent on those players will have to face some problems in the first few matches. Here are the teams and players who will be affected because of these SOPs.
Mumbai Indians
They won’t be affected too much, as they don’t have any players from England. Nathan Coulter Nile has joined the team already.
Chennai Super Kings
Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood are the two players that CSK will miss for the first few games.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
This team will surely miss their marquee opener, Aaron Finch, whom they recently bought in the auction. Moreover, Moeen Ali, Adam Zampa, and Joshua Phillipe are yet to join the squad.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The presence of Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, and the new sensation, Tom Banton will be unavailable for the first one or two games.
Rajasthan Royals
They will miss Steven Smith and Ben Stokes the most. Moreover, Josh Buttler, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, and Tom Curran will not be available for the first game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner and Jonny Bairstow are two key batsmen for SRH, and they will surely miss them in their opening match.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals will miss the service of Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey in their first match as they have to follow the SOPs to join the team.
Kings XI Punjab
Glenn Maxwell is again going to be a part of this team, but not in the first game. Moreover, Chris Jordan will miss the first match.
