After their ODI series, 21 Australian and English players, who ply their trades with different IPL franchises have arrived the United Arab Emirates ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which kicks off on Saturday, September 19th

They returned from the United Kingdom on Thursday after England-Australia ODI. They are expected to join their team ahead of their opening games.

But some players in which teams will be playing early won’t be able to join their respective teams for the opening match of the T20 tournament due to the COVID-19 protocol. The required protocol is that each of them must self-isolate for six days.

But there appear to be alterations to that rule as BCCI said they might self-isolate fr 36 hours rather than the six days initially planned.

The players who joined their respective franchises include Steve Smith, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, and David Warner. The players mentioned above arrive Thursday evening in a chartered flight.

The white ball series played in the UK had ended on Wednesday.

On their arrival in the UAE, Warner and some other players wore Personal Protection Kits (PPEs) in line with the COVID-19 protocol. The dreaded virus had forced the organizing body, BCCI, to move India’s premier event this year.

As part of the protocol as well, they will all undergo RT-PCR test for COVID-19 in Dubai. After getting the results, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, and Pat Cummins, who will be playing for the  Kolkata Knight Riders, will head to Abu Dhabi, where their team is based.

KKR and defending champions Mumbai Indians are the only teams based in Abu Dhabi while the remaining six franchises are camped in Dubai.

Credit has been given to the BCCI to successfully sort out the COVID-19 protocol issue with local authorities in the UAE. Therefore, it is a sigh of relief to many franchises as they will have their top players available for the opening games.

Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed