IPL 2020: Players arriving from England bubble to undergo 36-hr quarantine

Guwahati: The 21 players from the England vs Australia limited-overs series, who are due to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) landed in the UAE on Thursday, and will have to undergo a 36-hour quarantine period, unlike the earlier prescribed six days.

The franchises can heave a sigh of relief now as most of the big names arriving from the United Kingdom can be a part of the franchises’ season opener in the cash-rich league.

All the franchises (except Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders) which had Australian and English players due to be arriving from the white ball series in England appealed to reduce the quarantine period for the players after arriving and the BCCI has been able to successfully resolve the issue with the local authorities in the UAE.

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Speaking to a leading media agency, a senior IPL functionary privy said that “Yes, I can confirm that all the English and Australian players have to now undergo 36-hour quarantine instead of six days”. The official further stated that most of the teams will now be able to pick their big stars from the first game itself.

The only franchises who were unaffected by the earlier said six-day quarantine rule were Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, as Mumbai did not have any players in the English limited overs series, while the Kolkata Knight Riders, although had the likes of Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton and Pat Cummins in their team, their first match of the season is scheduled on September 23 against the Mumbai Indians, which automatically exceeds their stars’ six-day quarantine period.