Considering the bludgeoning rise of COVID-19 cases in India, the occurrence of any sporting events in the present scenario looks like a far-fetched dream.
The 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), originally scheduled to commence from March 29, has been postponed indefinitely.
Although BCCI is yet to take a final call regarding the cash-rich league, there are media reports about the tournament being shifted to UAE. And now a franchise official has revealed that teams have already started their preparation of arranging chartered flights and hotels.
“I think most teams, if not all, are already looking at hiring chartered planes. You never know if we will have regular flights operating by the end of August and most teams would wish to be in the UAE by the last week of August or at max the first week of September,” a franchise official was quoted as saying to IANS.
“So, in such a scenario, the best way is to hire chartered planes as we will all have around 35-40 people flying to UAE. The number of members obviously increases a bit when you are headed outside and have restrictions in movement in times like these.”
The IPL franchise wants its players to undergo a mandatory self-isolation period in India and then travel to the UAE.
“We are looking at having the boys come together in India. Go through a period of spending time in a bio-secure environment and then get our tests done and head to UAE. The reason behind that is we are all staying at home. So, if one of us is asymptomatic, we have the risk of infecting others. That is why it is better to go through a couple of weeks of isolation and testing here in the country before heading out,” an official remarked.
