Dubai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set a strict punishment for franchises, players breaching the bio-secure bubble protocols during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
BCCI had laid down strict rules for players, team management, franchise and IPL officials for the IPL 2020 in a 16-page Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document released in early August.
Violating the bio-bubble protocols, the first offence would prompt a six-day re-quarantine without pay, the second will result in a one-match suspension after quarantine, while the third instance will lead to the player’s removal from the tournament without his team getting a replacement.
The players could be fined as much 3000 AED (60,000 INR approx) for not completing their daily health passport, not wearing GPS tracker and missing a scheduled Covid-19 test. The same rules apply for family members and team officials.
If a franchise allows “any person into the bubble to interact with players/support staff”, it will have to pay a fine of Rs 1 crore at the first offence, a point will be deducted at the second offence and two points (equivalent to one win) for the third violation.
In an unlikely but possible scenario when a team is unable to field a playing XI as less than 12 players are available, the BCCI will try to reschedule and if that is not possible, the match would be deemed lost.