Jake Lush Mccrum, who is currently serving as the COO of Rajasthan Royals, has confirmed the news that BCCI has updated their protocol which will allow Australia and England players to participate in the cash-rich league from the first match onwards.
England and Australia are slated to square off in three T20Is and three ODIs, beginning September 4 and there were a lot of questions raised that whether these players will play first few matches of IPL or not which has now put to rest after the confirmation came from Rajasthan Royals COO.
The upcoming bilateral series between England and Australia will get finished at September 16th 2020. As per the old BCCI protocols, every player travelling to Dubai will have to quarantine themselves for 7 days but the new protocols have definitely given some sort of relief to some franchises who heavily rely on foreign players to perform, especially Rajasthan Royals, which has the star-studded lineup of Steve Smith, Jofra Archer, Jos Butler and Ben Stokes.
In an exclusive interview to ANI, Jake confirmed this news and talked about the updated protocols in detail.
“The BCCI protocols have actually been updated in the last few days and I’m pleased to say our English and Australian stars playing in the series pre IPL should be available for our first IPL match. Either way, we have a quality squad with the depth to manage any situation,“. he said.
“The English and Australian players will be competing against each other in a high-quality series right before the IPL which has many positives, the most important being it will enable them to be at full match fitness. I’m sure they will hit the ground running in the UAE for the IPL,” he added.
He also talked about the scenario how the process will unfold if any player will be tested positive for the coronavirus as the franchise have setup COVID-19 task force in order to deal with the virus.
“Suspected or positive cases will immediately be isolated from the team and the case will be managed by the team doctor in accordance with the IPL medical team. Contract tracing will begin immediately. The BCCI has put together a list of accredited hospitals that will be fully equipped to handle all such cases. All cases will however be treated as per set guidelines and protocols of the UAE government,” McCrum said
“We have set up our own COVID-19 taskforce, which will act as a response team for all queries and any action to be taken during the tournament. This team is being led by Anuja Dalvi, the Indian female physio who has international experience in cricket and other sports, supported by team physiotherapist John Gloster and team doctor, Rob Young. They will be responsible for regular monitoring and medical assessment to ensure the safety of the entire team staying in the UAE,” McCrum added.
The 13th edition of IPL is all slated to start from 19th September to 10th November 2020 in UAE.
