IPL 2021: BCCI gives 46-page health advisory to IPL teams, 14 bio-bubbles to be created in UAE

The second leg of the 14^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to commence in the UAE from September 19. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier had told all the eight franchises to enable full vaccination of the players. And now, the BCCI has apparently given a 46-page health advisory to eight teams’ stakeholders of the IPL and have told them to follow all the COVID-19 protocols and norms during the remainder of 31 games.

As per the rules laid out by BCCI, the franchises have to mandatorily undergo six days quarantine, before entering the bio-bubble environment. Secondly, the board has also decided to place 14 bio-bubbles in place, of which eight will belong to the franchises, and the rest will be for Match officials and match management team- three bubbles, broadcast commentators, and crew- three bubbles.

Speaking about the same, the health advisory explained in detail the various pointers the franchisees need to follow during the second phase of the IPL. “Within the Bio-Secure Environment, 14 bubbles will be created as mentioned below: Franchise teams and support staff – 8 Bubble, Match Officials & Match Management Team – 3 Bubbles, Broadcast Commentators and crew – 3 Bubbles.”

“All franchise team members must quarantine in their hotel room for 6 full days before entering the bubble. Upon arrival and before commencing any group training activities, all team members who will be included in the bubble will follow the below-mentioned COVID-19 RT-PCR testing plan. A nasopharyngeal swab will be taken for testing. Test reports are available within 8-12 hours after sample collection,” states the health advisory to InsideSport.

BCCI lays down the marker for all IPL franchises during the UAE leg

Apart from the Bio-Bubble restrictions, the Indian board has also modified the travel thing with the board allowing only the members traveling with only their dedicated vehicles.

“During the IPL 2021, members within a bubble must travel only in the dedicated vehicles from a fleet of buses and cars accredited by BCCI, which will be sanitized regularly. The drivers of all such vehicles will also be in the respective bubbles, tested regularly for COVID-19, and undergo temperature screening,” states the advisory.

Apart from that, the BCCI has allowed bubble-to-bubble transfers for teams who are directly coming from playing one series. These teams and players will not serve mandatory quarantine.

“Players and team support staff coming directly from the bubble created for the England vs India series, Sri Lanka vs South Africa series and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) may be permitted to join the franchise squad without serving the mandatory quarantine period, provided they satisfy the below-mentioned criteria. Commentators and broadcast crew who are working on the above three series’ can also avail bubble to bubble transfers provided they satisfy the criteria,” states the advisory.