There is now just one month left for the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 to begin in the UAE. The remaining matches of the 14th season of the tournament will start from 19 September and the final match of the tournament will be played on 15 October. BCCI has started preparations to start the tournament in UAE. This year the tournament in India was postponed due to the dreaded corona virus and now the board wants to take any risk regarding this virus. So he has taken an important decision. For this, it has issued a health advisory of 46 pages.
According to a rule of this health advisory, the ball will not be used again when the ball goes between the spectators. According to ‘Inside Sport’, the BCCI and the UAE Cricket Board are all set to allow spectators in the stands during the second phase of IPL 2021. This means that now during an IPL match if the ball goes into the stands then there is a possibility that it will be touched by the spectators or whoever throws the ball back then the ball will touch it.
The BCCI is in no mood to take any chances regarding the corona virus, so it has been decided that if the ball goes into the stands, it will be replaced. This decision may be a waste of time for the player and the umpire, but it will definitely benefit the fans watching the match in the stadium, as they will get a chance to take the ball back home. Earlier, the IPL 2020 ball which went out of the stadium or landed in the stands, then the umpire used to clear the ball and continue the game with the same ball.
As per BCCI’s safety protocols, “Franchise members or their families will be subject to disciplinary action for breach of any protocol of biologically safe environment”. Players from all over the world will participate in the IPL which includes Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh. As per the protocol, ‘All franchise team members will be required to undergo the COVID-19 RT-PCR test 72 hours prior to their flight. Everyone will have to keep themselves in quarantine and avoid contact with others after the RT-PCR test.
