IPL 2021 Bound Players To Travel To UAE from UK On A Charter Plane On Saturday
Published - 11 Sep 2021, 03:36 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:53 AM
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be arranging charter flights to fly Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) bound players to United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the second phase of IPL 2021 on Saturday.
The 5th and final Test match between India and England which was scheduled to begin on September 10 at Old Trafford, Manchester was canceled after the Covid-19 scare in the Indian camp. However later the reports were found negative of all the Indian players, but still, there is anxiety in the Indian camp after the virus spread.
Meanwhile, all the IPL players will be very keen to join their IPL team ahead of India Premier League (IPL) which will resume in UAE on September 19 with a high-profile clash between CSK and MI.
Reportedly all the players were in talks with their respective IPL franchise to get out of England as soon as the series ends and enter into the stricter bio-bubble of IPL 2021.
BCCI has coordinated with the IPL 2021 franchises and arranged charter flights.
“The players will be flying out to UAE today itself. BCCI has coordinated with the franchises and arranged charter flights. Few of the franchises had already made some arrangements with commercial flights on Friday itself,” a BCCI official told TOI on Saturday morning.
Currently, all the Indian and England players who will be traveling for the IPL 2021 are in isolation in a hotel in Manchester and they will be in the isolation until the departure.
“Technically, there had been no bubble during the series. The players will have to serve a six-day quarantine upon reaching UAE. So, the earlier they leave Manchester the less time they will have to spend in isolation. The franchises will take better care of the players,” a franchise official told TOI.
Notably, the last 48 hours have been very tough for Indian players as didn’t sleep till three in the night waiting for the decision of BCCI & ECB on the matter after physio Yogesh Parmar contracted the virus.
“The team would not have been so reluctant play if any member from the operations team would have tested positive. Almost all the players had been in close contact with physio Yogesh Parmar. One must remember Parmar tested positive four days after Shastri, Arun and Sridhar.”
“The players had decided amongst themselves that it was important to break the chain of infection with the IPL and T20 World Cup coming up on the bounce. The players feared if they kept mingling with each other, there was a risk of the cases multiplying every two-three days,” the BCCI source said
The BCCI source also stated that even if players are fully vaccinated there was a chance for infection so BCCI taking a stand for their players and canceling the match was a good decision.
“These players have been in bubbles for a year now. Nobody wants to have days of isolation piling on them. Even if you are fully vaccinated, you are capable of spreading the infection. If the parents got infected, it would have been difficult to look after the little kids. The players are grateful to BCCI for taking this stand for them,” the source claimed.
