WAGs, drivers a bother in bubble

New Delhi, July 27: The BCCI is likely to hand over a comprehensive Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) to the eight franchises for the upcoming IPL in the UAE but there are a few pressing questions that all the stakeholders need to figure out in the coming days.

While it is expected that most of the franchises will be starting to send their recce teams to the UAE to check out the facilities as well as what kind of biosecure environments that can be created.

Some of the franchises have questions which probably BCCI will need to answer in their SOPs.

Players’ families

This is a tricky issue that will totally depend on what BCCI states in its SOPs. A senior franchise official said that it will be “criminal” to keep players away from their partners and families for two months.

“During normal times, the wives and girlfriends, at times families join the players during a specified time but this is completely different scenario,” an official said.

“There will be players who have kids aged between 3 to 5 and how do you keep them in a room for two months,” he added.

Hotels or Resorts?

While top cricket teams are used to staying in five-star facilities it is a difficult proposition to rent out multiple five star hotels just for the team where other visitors won’t be allowed. A senior BCCI official said in Dubai even three-star boutique hotels are as good as five star and there are resorts which are easier to be rented out completely. “Every franchise won’t be able to match up to say Mumbai Indians, who will undoubtedly have the best set-up in these trying times. They have private jets, can even take doctors from their super speciality hospital, rent out a five-star hotel. Others need to check out what’s best for them. May be a beach resort,” the official said.

He gave a logic of having resorts with separate cottages which nullifies the threat of centralised air conditioning, as there is chance of infection spreading through AC ducts.

Drivers, security

Normally at any venue, the BCCI (on foreign tours liaising with host Board) and, in this case, the franchises in co-ordination with the Emirates Cricket Board will be hiring local transport, including luxury bus which carries the team to stadiums.

Normally, the locals who drive the bus leave for home after the day’s work but in this case, they might have to be asked to stay in the bio-secure environment for two months. “If every day, they are going to go home, they are exposed to outside environment and you have to negate the risk to minimum,” a top franchise official said.

Ditto for the local security personnel. — PTI