XtraTime Web Desk: The Australian and English cricketers representing different franchises touched base in UAE on Thursday night. All the 21 cricketers arrived in Dubai from Manchester in a chartered flight. Most of the cricketers were involved in the recently concluded white ball series between the two countries in England. All the cricketers including David Warner, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Jofra Archer were seen wearing Personal Protection Kits (PPEs) in view of the COVID-19 pandemic which has forced the BCCI to shift the league out of India this year.
All of them will undergo RT-PCR test for COVID-19 in Dubai and the three Kolkata Knight Riders players — Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton and Pat Cummins — will then proceed for Abu Dhabi, where their team is based.
All the Australian and English players will have to undergo just 36 hours of quarantine instead of the earlier prescribed six days after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) top officials in discussion with Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and UAE Government sorted out the issue with local authorities in the UAE.
The cash rich league will get underway from Saturday, September 19, 2020 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings at Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.