The much anticipated 2020 edition of the IPL has finally become a reality, thanks to the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council’s (GC) unwavering commitment. Starting from 19 September, fans will get to watch their favorite cricketers in action, as they battle out in the 53-day long tournament. Having said that, there are certain aspects which make the 13th season quite an enigmatic one- if not ominous.

This IPL is going to be only the third instance of an overseas IPL. And while only the first leg of the 2014 season was played at the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the upcoming season will be based exclusively in the Emirates; something that last happened back in the 2009-season in South Africa, owing to the general-elections. But the existing COVID-19 global-pandemic threat has rendered a whole, new ball-game; and in light of ensuring the safety of every participant involved, the BCCI and GC released a 16-page long draft of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). The SOP draft lays down a stringent set of rules and regulations to ensure maximum social-distancing for everyone involved. Here’s a rough summary of all the important points you need to know for IPL in the time of Coronavirus.

Testing and Traveling directives

Franchises will leave for UAE on chartered planes earliest by 20 August 2020.
The BCCI is likely to make training facilities in UAE available for pre-tournament camps starting August 27.
All the players will have to necessarily undergo two RT-PCR tests one day prior to their arrival in UAE. Additionally, every support staff member and player will have to be tested thrice in the span of 6 days post-arrival.
Each staff member and player will have to quarantine themselves until their test results come back negative. They can participate in training and recreational activities only after that.
Once the squad lands in the UAE, all members need to undergo a test at the airport before heading to the team hotel.
Every squad member has to co-operate with the test procedures. Additionally, all players will have to undergo tests every fifth day of the week.
Every franchise must appoint a team-doctor to supervise the implementation of the bio-secure protocols.
The franchise medical team should obtain a complete medical and travel history (since 1st March 2020) of all players and team support staff at least 2 weeks before the scheduled departure to UAE.

Bio-secure bubble

Under the bio-secure bubble, only essential staff members can appear on the ground. No unauthorized public visitors.
The BCCI will ensure 4-bio bubbles under demarcations of Hotels, Training sessions, Matches, and Transportations.
Each of the 8 teams will stay in different hotels. Preferably with multiple, isolated wings.
Squad members will have to wear masks outside the indoor premises.
Once in, none of the members involved will be able to leave the bio-bubble until the league concludes (Excluding emergencies).

Family members of the players

Players’ family members can travel, but their respective franchises need to ensure adherence to the protocols.
If the owners and family members step outside the bubble, they will need to undergo a week-long quarantine and fresh testing before re-entering the bio-secure environment.
Families cannot travel with the players and support staff on the team bus.
Any breach of the protocols would be punishable under the tournament’s code of conduct.

Team meetings and dressing room protocols

The authorities insist on maximizing the usage of video call and conferencing technology.
Isolated group meetings must also follow social-distancing protocols.
Indoor meetings will have to be conducted in sufficiently large rooms to allow for social distancing.
Wherever available, Scalene Hypercharge Corona Canon (Shycocan), a device that has the ability to neutralize 99.9% of the coronavirus that might be floating in the air in closed spaces, will be installed.

Players’ zone and match regulations

Players must complete the daily temperature checks and heath questionnaires before arriving at the venue of the match.
The players and staff will need to have personalized belongings including water bottles, towels, and cricket equipment.
No saliva usage on the cricket ball.
The protocols lay down specific time slots for players to use the gym and state that the same set of players should train together.
During a match, there will be a single point of entry into the ground.
Electronic team sheets have been recommended during the toss when the captains usually exchange the playing elevens.
Players will have designated seats on the dugouts.

Testing positive during the tournament

Suspected/positive cases will be immediately isolated from the rest of the squad and the infected person would be put in a sanitized room within the same hotel.
The team doctor will have to inform the IPL Medical manager immediately and “the case will be managed in close coordination with accredited hospitals and treatment centers equipped with COVID-19 testing and treatment.”
With provisions in place for isolation in designated areas outside the bio-bubble, the individual will have to stay there for a period of two weeks.
After the 2 weeks of isolation, the individual must result in 2 negative PCR test reports done 24 hours apart before being permitted to re-enter the Bio-Secure Environment.

Schedule

Not released yet.

Venues

Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Squads

Chennai Super Kings

Retained: Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Jagadeesan Narayan, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Monu Singh, MS Dhoni, M Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Shardul Thakur, Suresh Raina.

Signed: Sam Curran, Piyush Chawla, Josh Hazlewood, Sai Kishore

Kolkata Knight Riders

Retained: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi.

Traded In: Siddesh Lad

Signed: Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Praveen Tambe, Nikhil Naik

Mumbai Indians

Retained: Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Sherfane Rutherford, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McCleneghan, Rahul Chahar,

Traded In: Sherfane Rutherford, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni

Signed: Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Retained: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shreevats Goswami, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhishek Sharma, Mohammad Nabi, and Vijay Shankar, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, Khaleel Ahmed, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddharth Kaul, and T Natarajan.

Signed: Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Mitchell Marsh, Bavanaka Sandeep, Fabian Allen, Sanjay Yadav, Abdul Samad

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Retained: AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, Gurkeerat Singh, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, and Shivam Dubey, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Signed: Chris Morris, Pavan Deshpande, Aaron Finch, Joshua Philippe, Shahbaz Ahamad, Kane Richardson, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana

Delhi Capitals

Retained: Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, and Sandeep Lamichhane.

Traded In: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane

Signed: Jason Roy, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Marcus Stoinis, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Tushar Deshpande

Rajasthan Royals

Retained: Jos Buttler (WK), Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson (WK), Shashank Singh, and Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomrar, Ankit Rajpoot, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markhande, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron.

Signed: Jaydev Unadkat, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Robin Uthappa, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, Anirudha Joshi, David Miller, Andrew Tye, Tom Curran

Kings XI Punjab

Retained: Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, Harpreet Brar, and K Gowtham, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, J Suchith, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin.

Signed: Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Prabhsimran Singh, Deepak Hooda, James Neesham, Tajinder Dhillon, Ishan Porel