Chartered planes, hotel selection: IPL franchises begin preparation for UAE - watsupptoday.com
Chartered planes, hotel selection: IPL franchises begin preparation for UAE
Posted 18 Jul 2020 02:19 PM

Even as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) waits for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make an official decision on the fate of the T20 World Cup before making an announcement on the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, franchises have already been sounded out and they are busy preparing to play the league in UAE this year.

Speaking to IANS, a franchise official said that they have already started preparing for the logistics and have zeroed in on the hotel they wish to stay at in Abu Dhabi and how exactly they will train and prepare for the 13th edition of the leagYou need to be smart and plan early. We have been given the required inputs and are planning accordingly. We have actually decided on the hotel we wish to stay at in Abu Dhabi and how exactly we will go through the process of flying in and going through the necessary quarantine period once in UAE. We will obviously need to brush up with the then health guidelines of the country," the official said.

Another official of a former champion franchise said that they are looking to get an isolation period done in India before heading off to UAE. "We are looking at having the boys come together in India. Go through a period of spending time in a bio-secure environment and then get our tests done and head to UAE.

"The reason behind that is we are all staying at home. So, if one of us is asymptomatic, we have the risk of infecting others. That is why it is better to go through a couple of weeks of isolation and testing here in the country before heading out," the official explained.
Asked about the travel plan, an official of another franchise said that chartered planes are the most viable options as normal flight schedules may or may not start and each team will have around 35-40 people travelling as a unit.

"I think most teams, if not all, are already looking at hiring chartered planes. You never know if we will have regular flights operating by the end of August and most teams would wish to be in the UAE by the last week of August or at max the first week of September. So, in such a scenario, the best way is to hire chartered planes as we will all have around 35-40 people flying to UAE. The number of members obviously increases a bit when you are headed outside and have restrictions in movement in times like these," the official pointed.

Another franchise official though begged to differ and said that they are still looking at first-class travel if flights start operating as the franchise isn't looking at any grouping in India and want the assembling to happen directly in the UAE.

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