Imran Tahir to be the only South African player to participate in CPL 2020

As cricket is slowly getting back on track amid coronavirus pandemic, various domestic, as well as international series, are being hosted across the globe. This year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is also set to start from August 18 as 33 matches will be played across two months to mark the resumption of cricket in Trinidad & Tobago.

In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, the high-octane league will be played in a bio-secure bubble and all players will be maintaing adequate safety measures. All matches during the course of the tournament will be played behind closed doors to curb the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The CPL 2020 will feature many prominent faces battling it out in the middle. However, talking about South African stars, only Imran Tahir will be taking part in the competition. Other South African stars like Rassie van der Dussen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, and Colin Ingram have been unable to confirm their travel arrangements in time, resulting in them not been able to participate in the tournament.

Tahir will be participating in the CPL as he has not been in South Africa through the lockdown. 41-year-old Tahir was in Pakistan when the PSL was halted before the semi-finals in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. He has been able to travel to West Indies from there.

South Africa is currently under lockdown amid the pandemic

Amid the pandemic, 14-day quarantine for players has become the new normal. And, the CPL organizers wanted players to arrive in the country by August 1 to fulfil the quarantine period before the commencement of the tournament, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.

South Africa, at present, is under lockdown amid the pandemic. However, the board has issued No Objectiion Certificates (NOC) to its players who are set to ply their trade in the IPL 2020. South Africa has so far witnessed over 4 lakh COVID-19 positive cases and over 7000 deaths.

The Indian Premier League (IPL), after being postponed since March 29, is finally set to hit the floor from September 19 in the UAE. But the participation of the South African players is still awaiting logistical checks and government permission. Ten South African players are associated with their respective franchises for the thirteenth edition of the cash-rich league.