BCCI To Not Have Bio-Bubbles In India’s Home T20I Series Against South Africa - Reports

In an interesting update, it has been reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will end the bio-bubbles starting the upcoming home T20I series against South Africa which will follow the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2022).

The bio-bubbles came in after the COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on cricket and England and West Indies were the first teams to play cricket in June 2020 in a strict bio-bubble environment with strict solitary quarantine and other measures, including playing behind closed doors.

The BCCI also had to postpone many homes and away series due to the pandemic and even the IPL 2020 was held in the UAE in strict bio-bubble in three venues. The first half of the IPL 2021 happened in India, but it was marred by COVID breach amidst the second wave of the pandemic and the remainder of the tournament happened in UAE once more.

But with the pandemic subsiding thanks to vaccination in the country, the BCCI allowed the IPL 2022 to happen in India, albeit with the league stage taking place in four venues and playoffs at two venues. Even crowd was allowed in the stadiums and though Delhi Capitals saw an outbreak of COVID, the tournament was not halted.

There Will Be No Bio-Bubbles And Hard Quarantine During Home Series Against South Africa  

After the IPL 2022 ends on May 29, South Africa will visit for five T20I matches which will be played across five venues — Delhi, Cuttack, Vizag, Rajkot, Bengaluru — between June 9 and 19. And as per PTI reports, the BCCI is looking to do away with bio-bubbles, keeping in mind the mental well-being of cricketers.

The BCCI does not want its players to move to another confined stay just after the conclusion of the league.

“If all goes well and things remain in control like it is right now, there will be no bio-bubbles and hard quarantine during the home series against South Africa. Then we are going to Ireland and England and there won’t be any bio-bubble in those countries too,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.

The board is aware that bubble life is not sustainable for a long period of time, as staying in solitary quarantine affects the health of players both physically and mentally.

“Some players have got periodic breaks but if you look at the bigger picture, living in a bio-bubble one series after another and now two months of IPL is simply exhausting for the players,” he said.

In the UK, there are no bio-bubbles as of now for any sporting activity and hence the Indian team is expected to have a free environment in the country where they would play one Test and six white-ball games in a space of three weeks.

“There are five T20 Internationals between June 9 to 19 in five cities. Obviously, all the players won’t be playing all the games. Some might be given total rest and some might play a few games. If these guys aren’t given systemic breaks, it will only harm them. But obviously, the duration of break will be decided by selectors after talking to head coach (Rahul Dravid),” the source added.

An effective workload management program is being prepared so that all the stars including skipper Rohit Sharma, senior batters Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, keeper Rishabh Pant, pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami , spinner Ravindra Jadeja get adequate rest before jetting off to the UK.

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