IPL in UAE: Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad arrive in Dubai
Fixtures will take a few more days, says IPL chairman Brijesh Patel on arrival
Dubai: The six-day quarantine period will now kick in right earnest as the last two of the teams - Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad landed in Dubai on Sunday afternoon. Only the Indian players of both teams arrived in a chartered flight from Mumbai while the likes of Jason Roy, Kagiso Rabada (Delhi) or Kane Williamson and David Warner (Hyderabad) will join the squads later.
Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Kings XI Punjab had earlier reached the UAE on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, Brijesh Patel, chairman of IPL, also flew into the city while a large contingent of International Marketing Group - the event managers of the league have also landed. Speaking to Gulf News from his hotel room, Patel said: ‘‘We will also be in quarantine for the next six days and going through with the formalities. The release of the fixtures will take a few more days as we are in the process of finalising a few more things.’’
Following the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs), the teams have slipped into a mandatory six-day quarantine period after arriving in the UAE. The players have to undergo RT-PCR tests on Day 1, 3, and 6 of the quarantine phase and then they will be entering the bio-bubble provided they test negative on all three occasions.
Virat Kohli, ever so the popular figure in the social media, posted a picture of him - so did Ravindra Jadeja of Chennai Super Kings and several other players.
“Finally we are travelling and looking forward to getting to Dubai and isolating for a week. We will be undergoing three more tests, and hopefully everyone’s reports will come out negative, and then we can get back on to the field to start practicing,” Mohammad Kaif, assistant coach of Delhi Capitals, said in a statement ahead of departure.
Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra said, “We are all really excited that cricket is back, and that the team is together again. It is like meeting your own family, meeting your long lost friends. So it is just a really overwhelming phase for all of us.”
The 13th edition of the IPL will be played for 53 days, from September 19 to November 10, across three venues -- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.
This time, both the afternoon and evening matches will be played half-an-hour earlier than usual.
This time, both the afternoon and evening matches will be played half-an-hour earlier than usual.