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Twenty-one players from the United Kingdom (UK) reached the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a chartered plane on Thursday (September 17) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
These players were part of the England versus Australia limited-overs series which concluded on Wednesday (September 16) in Manchester.
As per the rules of UAE, a player has to remain in isolation for six days after landing in the gulf nation
However, these cricketers have travelled from one biosecure bubble to another. Therefore, the officials decided to reduce players’ quarantine period to 36 hours. 18 out of 21 players will be given a window to head on to the field from Saturday if their COVID-19 tests come negative.
But, the likes of Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Tom Banton, will have to serve the six-day isolation period. According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the trio from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will remain in quarantine due to specific COVID-19 rule in Abu Dhabi.
Cummins, Morgan and Banton will be available for KKR’s opener
When it comes to the three Knight Riders players, they will remain in their rooms for the first six days. Once they clear the mandatory testing procedure, they can join rest of the squad on the seventh day.
The good news for KKR fans is that Cummins, Morgan and Banton would be available for selection ahead of the Knight Riders’ opening game on September 23 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Abu Dhabi.
The franchisees, who have England and Australia players in their squad, had earlier requested to reduce the quarantine period from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Acting to the request, the apex Indian board was able to relax quarantine rules for franchises staying in Dubai but not for those IPL sides who have been staying in Abu Dhabi.
Only MI and KKR have a home base in Abu Dhabi, and the remaining six teams are staying in Dubai.
