England-Australia Series To End On September 16; IPL-Bound Players Can Only Play From September 26

IPL franchises will miss the services of Australian and England players in the first week of the 2020 edition after it was announced that both teams will be locking horns in a series of six limited-overs internationals [3 T20Is and 3 ODIs] between September 04-16 at bio-secure Southampton and Manchester.

The three-match T20I series will be played at the Ageas Bowl on September 04, 06, and 08 and it will be followed by the One-day International rubber, set to be held at Old Trafford on September 11, 13 and 16.

Players can touch the base latest by September 17 or 18. With the IPL SOP’s mandating Covid-19 PCR tests on day 01, 03 and 06, players will be quarantined and they will only be allowed to enter the bio-secure bubble once they return negative for all the three tests, which means none of the players will be available for the opening two or three games for their franchises.

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A total of 29 players from England and Australia are set to take part in the IPL

Rajasthan Royals are likely to suffer the most from their absence, considering the core of their team revolves around skipper Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Jofra Archer.

The series between Australia and England will also be played behind closed doors. The Australian team is set to reach the United Kingdom on August 24. The squad will travel to Derbyshire before leaving for the Ageas Bowl following the culmination of England’s final Test against Pakistan. The Aussies will play three intra-squad T20 games as well as an ODI before the series.

We owe a significant debt of gratitude to the players, staff, and administrators of Cricket Australia for their efforts in getting this tour underway. Their co-operation to ensure these matches are staged is crucial to cricket in this country. It will also provide much-needed financial aid at all levels of cricket in England and Wales as we work through the challenges in front of us.” ECB CEO Tom Harrison was quoted as saying by PTI.

“I’m very proud of what our game has achieved, and that cricket is seen as the standard-bearers in developing bio-secure sporting events to the highest of standards.” The Cricket Australia interim Chief Executive Officer, Nick Hockley, added: “We would also like to thank the Australian Government for granting travel exemptions for the Australian men’s team, as well as all those who have worked tirelessly to put together a plan that allows for the tour to progress in a bio-secure way.” he added.

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