Things you will only see in IPL-2020
The Indian premier league, most commonly known as the IPL has taken the popularity of the sport to a new level altogether. The excitement and dedication seen in the fans to support their teams is commendable. The IPL is by far the most attended cricket league in the world. There have been twelve seasons of the IPL tournament, and IPL 2020 is the thirteenth.
A number of changes had to be made in the format of the game in order to abide by the safety norms and make sure that the players and managers take utmost precautions during these difficult times and deliver their best to the overly excited audience. In order to provide the public with the highest level of entertainment right from the comfort of their homes, The Governing Council has implemented some new changes for the current season of the Indian Premier League. These changes may stick only for this particular edition.
IPL 2020 is being held at the United Arab Emirates from 19th September through 10th November, due to the ongoing pandemic. UAE was chosen as the tournament destination since all the stadiums are within 100 kms so the respective teams can travel easily without frequent change in hotels.
It states that Fans will not be present in the stadium for the first time. With the rising cases of Covid-19 and to maintain the norms of social distancing, the IPL 2020 will be played without the presence of fans in the stadium. The fans will support their teams only through online live cricket streaming.
All Indian players and support staff had to undergo two COVID-19 RT-PCR tests, 24 hours apart, a week before joining the 14-day quarantine period with their respective teams in India. Following their arrival in the UAE, the players and support staff had to return at least three negative tests during a week’s quarantine and only after testing negative, were they allowed to enter the bio-bubble and start training.
Players were not even allowed to meet teammates immediately upon arrival in the UAE. Players could interact with each other only after returning 3 negative Covid-19 PCR tests upon arrival in the UAE.
All franchises have been asked to appoint a team doctor who will be responsible for ensuring bio-secure guidelines during the entire tenure of the tournament. The franchise medical team was asked to obtain a complete medical and travel history of all players and team support staff at least two weeks before the scheduled departure to UAE.
The on-field rules of the tournament include the ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball and allowing home umpires in international series. It also decided to allow teams to have a replacement for players showing Covid-19 symptoms in Test matches. IPL 2020 will see an extra umpire for calling no-balls to make sure on-field umpires don’t err with respect to the same.
All safety measures in the Bio-Bubble are being ensured by taking utmost precautions. The Eight teams are camping in different hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and travel every day for practice.
But even after all the ups and downs in the organization of the nation loved tournament, it is for sure that in a cricket crazy nation like India, IPL will always gain the love and support from its fans, be it physically or virtually, in normal time, or during a pandemic.
-Abigail Gretel Soares