The 2023 IPL season is nearly two weeks away and with the most lucrative league in the world set to return in its former glory, the BCCI will look to follow strict protocols for coronavirus amid rising coronavirus cases in the nation.
As per a report from ESPNCricinfo on Saturday, all the foreign players participating in the league will be asked to undergo a week-long isolation period before joining up with their teammates.
While normalcy has returned after Covid, with sporting leagues and events no longer being hosted in a bio-bubble as seen in the IPL in past seasons, IPL will continue to follow strict protocols.
As per the league’s rules, they want to remain ‘careful’ and any Covid-19 positive players will not be allowed to take part in training sessions unless they produce a Covid-negative report.
“While there has been a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in India we still have to be careful of the emerging strains which are becoming a concern at regular intervals,”
read the IPL’s guidelines which were shared with all franchises.
“Positive cases must be isolated for maximum of seven days. Positive cases will not be allowed to participate in any match or any form of activity/event during the period of isolation.”
The guidelines further informed,
“From day five, they can undergo a RT-PCR, provided they must be must be asymptomatic without any medication for 24 hours. Once the first result is negative the 2nd test must be done 24 hours apart. Only after obtaining two negative RT-PCR tests 24 hours apart i.e. day five and day six, can they rejoin the group.”
The league further informed that testing will be carried out only on players who will show signs of Covid-19, asymptomatic players won’t be tested. Even after serving seven days of quarantine, if a player still tests positive, they will need to produce two negative tests, with a difference of 12 hours between the two reports before the player joins their team.
The 2023 of the tournament edition will kick start on March 31 with defending champions Gujarat Titans set to host Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
