Mumbai Indians took over 150 members to UAE for IPL 2020, the largest contingent among all franchises

Prior to the start of the 2020 Indian Premier League, it was pretty evident that the eight franchises won’t leave any stone unturned to take precautionary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The players and the team officials went through mandatory coronavirus tests and quarantine periods following which they joined their respective teams’ bio-security bubble.

Mumbai Indians seemed to be the most prepared as they had the largest contingent travelling with them with over 150 members, including a hairdresser, a makeup artist and a tailor. Compared to that, the other seven teams had on and around 40 members.

“In case we had any COVID cases, the board had blocked 200 rooms separately so that patients can be quarantined and only join once they have fully recovered,” Arun Dhumal, the BCCI treasurer, was quoted as saying in The Indian Express.

Mumbai Indians’ hard work reaps benefits

MI’s preparations paid dividends as they won the IPL for the fifth time, beating the Delhi Capitals in the final in Dubai. The team, led by Rohit Sharma, also managed to defend their title after winning the championship back in May 2019.

In the meantime, Dhumal was also delighted by the response throughout the tournament. As per him, not only did the BCCI earn INR 4,000 crore, but the television viewership also went up by 25 per cent. The world’s richest board also resorted to cost-cutting.

“The Board managed to cut nearly 35 per cent of the cost as compared to the last IPL. We earned Rs 4,000 crore during the pandemic time. Our TV viewership went about 25 per cent higher, we got the highest-ever opening game (Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings) viewership.

“Those who doubted us came and thanked us for hosting the IPL. Had this IPL not happened, cricketers would have lost one year,” Dhumal added.

Back in the month of June, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and three other players were tested positive for the COVID-19 after playing a few exhibition matches. The incident got BCCI into a fix regarding whether to conduct the IPL or not. However, BCCI secretary Jay Shah showed faith and the IPL happened from September 19 to November 10.