In a big development, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are arranging a charter flight to fly Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj to Dubai from Manchester on Sunday morning, ahead of the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The duo will undergo a six-day quarantine period before joining the team bubble. Speaking to ANI, sources within the RCB franchise confirmed that Virat and Siraj will be flying out from Manchester in a charter flight on Saturday night and reach Dubai early on Sunday morning.
"Yes, we have arranged a charter flight for Virat and Siraj, both of them will be flying out at 11:30 PM UK time on Saturday and they will reach Dubai early Sunday morning. Safe transit of players is the utmost priority for RCB. They will undergo 6-day quarantine there before joining the team bubble," the source said.
On Friday, the 5th Test match between England and India was cancelled in Manchester.
The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test match, however, the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the game.
The 14th season of the IPL, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
RCB will resume their IPL 2021 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on September 20 in Abu Dhabi.
Sharjah will host its first game on September 24 when RCB take on Chennai Super Kings.
In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah, and 8 in Abu Dhabi. The BCCI has decided to do away with contact tracing devices for the UAE leg, starting on September 19.
The Indian board decided that Bubble Integrity Officers will do the necessary contact tracing if any player tests positive for COVID-19 in UAE.
The board has come up with a 46-page health advisory that lays down all the pointers that everyone associated with the IPL needs to follow in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the league.