Indian players likely to stay away from family for over 150 days after the start of IPL 2020

With T20 World Cup’s postponement, the Indian board is all set to utilize the September-November window and shift the IPL to UAE this year. Amid COVID-19 pandemic, the BCCI is all set to organize the cash-rich league in UAE this year during the September-November window.

Indian cricket stars, after staying away from the sport for more than four months, are all set to brace the field with the much-anticipated IPL 2020 slated to start from September 19. With the cricket calendar being so packed for the rest of the year, Indian players could be away from their respective families for over 150 days.

As per the plan, the players are expected to train in Ahmedabad’s Motera Stadium in August, before flying to the UAE to flag off this year’s IPL season. Though the dates for the national training camp have not been revealed yet, it is reportedly going to kick off by mid-August.

Governing Council chairman, Brijesh Patel, had recently told the media that the IPL 2020 is expected to be a 53-day affair instead of 51. Furthermore, the board is trying to fly players directly from UAE to Australia for the bilateral series.

First Test between Australia and India is scheduled to take place on December 03

As per reports, players who won’t play in IPL the final will also have to abide by the bio-security bubble as the BCCI is expected to directly fly those players Down Under. Hence, they won’t be able to fly back home and meet family members between the completion of IPL 2020 and the start of the Australia series.

As per the current schedule of India tour of Australia, the first Test between the two sides is scheduled to take place on December 03. Post the Test series which concludes on January 07, the ODI series is slated to commence from January 12 and end on January 17. If the Indian team lands in Australia on November 12, the overall duration of the tour will add up to 68 days– leading to Indian players staying away from their respective families for more than 150 days.

Several Indian stars including the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and many other members of the team are expected to stay away from their homes, without any physical contact, for more than five months. Amid the resumption of cricket, players will have no choice but to go through this period at a time when the entire world is grappling with COVID-19 debacle.