Reports | No Quarantine leniency for England, Australia players in IPL 2020

Even though England have already started their preparations for the limited-overs series against Australia, which will comprise three ODIs and three T20Is to be played in a bio-secure bubble in early September, the itinerary is yet to be released officially. However, from the initial reports, it is understood that the matches will go on till September 15, culminating a full English international summer.

However, there is a domino effect of sorts on the IPL franchises because the strict SOP directed by the BCCI will put them in a position of missing their key signings. The likes of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Jofra Archer, Steven Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins are key players from the teams with Warner and Smith being the captains of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals respectively.

As per the current protocol laid by the BCCI and IPL Governing Council, every squad member will have to undergo a seven-day quarantine period in the team hotel and will be tested three times - on days 1, 3 and 6. If and only if all three results come back negative, the squad can start training and the same regulations will be applied for the players joining late. Everyone inside the bubble will be tested on the fifth day of every week throughout the tournament as well. 

While all eight franchises have agreed with the SOPs, several, however, asked the IPL if the week-long quarantine could be relaxed for the players exiting the UK bubble. The reasoning being considering the players are already in a bubble and will enter another in IPL after traveling on a charter flight, the testing and quarantine process for this group should be different. However, the BCCI doesn’t seem to relent with the idea and have their plan fixed as of now.