A 14-day quarantine rule in Abu Dhabi has put Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI), the two IPL teams based there, in a spot. While the remaining six teams in Dubai can start training, KKR and MI players need an extra week before they can step out of their rooms. In Dubai, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab have already begun training, the others are likely to start in the next couple of days.
The reason for KKR and MI spending an extra week without being able to train is that Dubai and Abu Dhabi have different quarantine rules. International travellers getting into Dubai need to have a Covid-19 negative test report from the point of departure and need to be quarantined till the result of the test on arrival, which is usually 48 hours. If they test negative, they don’t need to be isolated.
KKR reached Abu Dhabi on August 20 and per IPL’s Standard Operating Procedure should have completed their six-day quarantine on Wednesday. That should have cleared them to be a part of the IPL bio-secure bubble from Thursday and allowed them to start training. That has not happened.
“We are waiting for a go-ahead from our team manager,” said a team official from their hotel in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians reached Abu Dhabi on August 21. Unless exceptions are made or teams shift base, they won’t be able to train till September 2 or September 3.
