IPL 2021: Franchises pool in to book charters for players coming from CPL and Sri Lanka

New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): After making their respective arrangements -- with assistance from the BCCI -- to get Indian players from UK to the UAE for the second half of the IPL, the eight franchises have decided to pool in and get the players currently participating in the Caribbean Premier League and the Sri Lanka-South Africa series into UAE ahead of the resumption of the league.
Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments confirmed the same and said two charter planes will carry the players. "The teams have decided to pool in and get the players to UAE from the CPL as well as Sri Lanka. While one charter plane will carry the players from CPL, one will carry players who participated in the Sri Lanka-South Africa series in the Island Nation," the source said.

Going into the season opener, both Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Mumbai Indians will have important players flying in from the West Indies as well as Sri Lanka. While CSK will have Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir (all CPL) and Lungi Ngidi (SL-SA series) joining the ranks, MI will have Kieron Pollard (CPL) and Quinton de Kock (SL-SA series) coming in.

The players coming from the Caribbean Premier League and the South Africa-Sri Lanka series will undergo two-day isolation before they join their respective team bubbles. The bubble to bubble transfer means they will not need to quarantine for six days with an eye on COVID-19.

Sources in the know of developemnts confirmed that the players will undergo isolation and get their COVID-19 test done before they join teammates in the bubble.

"The players coming in from the bubbles in CPL and from the SA-SL series will undergo two days of isolation. They will come in and go into their rooms on the first day, they will then get tested next day and once the results come in, they will join the squad members in the bubble," the source told ANI.

The BCCI had earlier informed all franchises that every player coming to UAE from the UK would have to undergo six days of hard quarantine before they could join the existing team bubbles for the resumption of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.

The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Mumbai Indians.

The board has come up with a 46-page health advisory that lays down all the pointers that everyone associated with the IPL needs to follow in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the league. (ANI)