All Indian players and support staff will first quarantine in Bengaluru: RCB Chairman Sanjeev Churiwala

The countdown has begun for the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League, and we're less than 40 days away from the first match. The Royal Challengers of Bangalore have started work in the background as the players will assemble in Bengaluru on 14 August where they will be under quarantine for a week.

Speaking to a few news agencies namely, The Hindu and Deccan Herald, Royal Challengers Bangalore Chairman Mr Sanjeev Churiwala said that the club has everything in place for players and support staff. From accommodation to preparation, the management of the RCB will take care of everything when they arrive in Bengaluru before leaving for the UAE in the last week of August.

“All the Indian players and support staff will first assemble in Bengaluru. They will be quarantined in a hotel in Bengaluru for a few days before flying out to the UAE around the last week of August. The players are keen to start practising, so our flight schedule has been worked to ensure adequate time is available to conduct nets in UAE,” Mr Churiwala was quoted as saying by the Hindu.

All players arriving in Bengaluru are likely to be screened three times for COVID-19. The SOP draft states that individuals in all franchises would have to undergo a compulsory week-long quarantine before beginning on-ground preparation. Each franchise is recommended to appoint a team doctor who will be in charge of the team’s paramedics in the bio-secure bubble.

“We are waiting for a formal letter from the government but I believe it will be a smooth process. Our team is eager to land up in the Middle East. Thanks to such a long break, no player is in form, technically. Players want to get cracking,” Mr Churiwala told Deccan Herald.

The Chairman made it clear that every player has been educated with respect to BCCI's SOP, and concluded by stating that his team would comply entirely with all the laws that had been imposed. “All the players have been trained on the SOP, on the procedures to be followed in the bio-bubble. RCB will 100 per cent abide by the guidelines of the BCCI.”