IPL franchises considering pooling together to arrange chartered flight for the group
South Africa’s IPL-bound players who are part of the national squad for the limited-overs series against Pakistan, which starts on April 2, will be allowed by Cricket South Africa to fly out to India after the second ODI on April 4. The Pakistan series includes three ODI series, followed by four T20Is running till April 16. The IPL begins on April 9.
The new-ball pair of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje (both Delhi Capitals), wicketkeeper batsman Quinton de Kock (Mumbai Indians), power-hitter David Miller (Rajasthan Royals) and pacer Lungi Ngidi (Chennai Super Kings) are expected to be part of the group travelling straight from the Pakistan series into the IPL.
ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchises involved are checking on whether pooling in to arrange a chartered flight is a viable option, considering that would then allow some of the players to not miss their team’s first matches. According to BCCI guidelines, team members do not need to do the mandatory seven-day quarantine in their hotel rooms if they are moving between biosecure team bubbles via chartered flights. If players take commercial flights, then they will need to undergo quarantine before they can link up with those already in the IPL bubble.
The IPL opener, on April 9, will be between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai. The next day the Capitals, who finished runners-up in IPL 2020, will compete against three-time champions Super Kings in Mumbai. The Royals play their first match on April 12 in Mumbai against the Punjab Kings.
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo