On Friday, there was news that over a dozen members of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) contingent have been infected by the coronavirus in Dubai. The two players who have tested positive include a white-ball T20 specialist seamer for India and a top-order India ‘A’ batsman. BCCI did not reveal any names.

The T20 tournament starts on September 19 and will be played across three cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “Thirteen personnel have tested positive, of which two are players. All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL medical team,” said a BCCI press release.

The release stated that a total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID-19 tests were carried out between August 20 and 28 across all participant groups in UAE. These include players, support staff, team management, BCCI staff, IPL operational team as well as hotel and ground transport staff. “As per the IPL 2020 health and safety protocols, testing on all participants will be conducted regularly throughout the season,” it added.

All positive cases need to go through a 14-day quarantine period, following which they will have to return two negative RT-PCR tests before being allowed inside the bio-bubble.