IPL bubble breach no surprise

IPL was handled smoothly in the UAE last season, but the league had to be called off mid-way after its return to India this year. Here are the key differences in the way the two tournaments were conducted.

TIME AND PLACE

Last year, IPL took place in the UAE from September to November. The UAE was not a Covid hotspot, and by September infections were on a downward curve around the world. The UAE had 674 new cases on September 19 when IPL 2020 began..

This year, IPL began in India on April 9. That day India saw 145,384 new cases with a 7-day average of 116,238, the situation clearly alarming.

HOTELS

In the UAE, all eight teams were in the same hotels during the tournament.

Media reports said during this IPL there were chances of infection in the hotels. A franchise stayed in a hotel inside a shopping mall.

VENUES & TRAVEL

In the UAE, matches were played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The venues were around two hours apart by road. Though there were a few positives in the build-up, there was no positive during the event.

IPL 2021 was scheduled at six venues. Mumbai had night curfew when it hosted its first match. The cluster caravan model also meant teams had to take flights between cities.

TRACKING DEVICES

In the UAE, everyone wore a GPS-tracking device that followed movements within the bubble and there was a beep if an individual moved beyond the permitted zone. Franchises were given Cloud enabled GPS hand bands this year. Some complained the bands did not track all movements.

GROUNDSTAFF

They were part of the greater bubble in the UAE. This time, just before the league, a number of groundstaff tested positive in Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai later arranged for its staff to stay at the Wankhede Stadium. But according to reports, groundstaff in Chennai and Delhi were allowed to travel from their homes as they were “vaccinated”.