Australian cricketers like Steve Smith and David Warner will have to remain in isolation for six days after arrival in the UAE for the IPL despite having spent time at bio-secure bubble in the UK, according to Chennai Super Kings bowling consultant Eric Simons.
Smith (Rajasthan Royals), Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Australia team-mate Josh Hazlewood (CSK) will head straight to the UAE from the UK after the third and final ODI against England on Wednesday. They have been in a bio-secure bubble throughout the limited-overs series in England.
But Simons said there will be no leniency and the Australians in all likelihood will have to serve a minimum of six days in quarantine before integrating with their squads.
“We are hearing – although it’s not confirmed yet – that they will also have to self-isolate in their rooms for six days and produce negative tests on the first, third and sixth days before they can join us,” Simons wrote in his column for ‘Manners on Cricket’ website.
“We had hoped that they could all move from their current bio-secure bubbles into ours but it seems likely that there will be no ‘leniency’, which is understandable. Apart from our brilliant Indian players, led by the ageless MS Dhoni, we do have Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi in full training so there’s no shortage of talent.”
The Australian cricketers are expected to arrive in the UAE on September 17, just two days before the start of the 13th edition of the world’s richest T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Simons also said that the CSK players have to wear a smart health tracking device whenever they step out of hotel rooms.
“We were issued with tracking devices to be worn around our necks whenever we left our hotel rooms but our physiotherapist has been very creative in turning them into ‘watches’ so at least that doesn’t feel restrictive,” said the former South African coach.
Since their arrival in the UAE, CSK has been hit hard by COVID-19 with the team reporting as many as 13 positive cases, including two players.
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