New Delhi: After the cancellation of the fifth test match between India and England in Manchester, IPL franchises have started the process of bringing their players to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a bit earlier for the restart of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season.
While a charter flight has been arranged for Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj, franchises like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, and Punjab Kings will fly out their players on commercial flights.
For MI, the players who would be leaving for Dubai with their respective families are skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav. While Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shardul Thakur, Moeen Ali, and Sam Curran, who all are part of the CSK squad will also be leaving tonight for UAE.
“We tried charter flights but since it was a last-minute option, we could not arrange any. Our players will be leaving tonight and will reach Dubai tomorrow. Some of the England players (in IPL) will also come along with them. When they land, they will do six-day quarantine like the rest of the players,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.
Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon also confirmed that players will be flying out to UAE today itself. “We have arranged commercial flights for our players. They will be leaving tonight. As for England players, we expect them to come at a later date. They are not coming along with them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kohli the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), will arrive in the UAE on Sunday morning with teammate Siraj for the second leg of the IPL. The franchise has booked a charter flight for the pair, who are currently in Manchester.
“Keeping the safety and security of our players as the utmost priority, Royal Challengers Bangalore have arranged a special charter flight for captain Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj to ensure their safe transit to the UAE. The players will be flying out at 11.30 PM (UK time) on Saturday and will arrive in Dubai early Sunday morning. Both, Virat and Siraj will undergo 6-day quarantine in Dubai before joining the team bio-secure bubble,” RCB said in a statement.
The remaining matches of the cash-rich league will kick-start from September 19 which will be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The defending champion Mumbai Indians will face the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the opening contest of the second stage of the IPL 2021.
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