TOI understands that the players are in talks with the franchises to make arrangements for their expulsion from the UK at the earliest. The Indian and English players were to be taken in a bubble after the Test on 15 September. It has now emerged that the Indian players would prefer to move into a tighter bubble at the earliest.
“Chennai Super Kings have already started action to make arrangements for their players to go by Saturday or Sunday. Mumbai Indians is trying to arrange charter flights for its players. Other players are in talks with their franchises to make arrangements.” BCCI The source told TOI on Friday.
Indian players have been kept in isolation at the hotel in Manchester. There is no housekeeping. They get food from room service. They will have to remain in isolation till they leave. “Technically, there was no bubble during the series. Players will have to stay in a six-day quarantine upon arrival in the UAE. Therefore, the sooner they leave Manchester the less time they will have to spend in isolation. Franchisees will take better care of the players. We are working with every stakeholder and BCCI to make arrangements,” a franchise official told TOI.
It has been a tough 48 hours for the players. TOI has learned that the players were barely able to sleep on Thursday night and they were waiting till at least 3 in the morning to see what the two boards would decide. The team members were all about families and young children traveling with them. No assurance from the English Board could allay the apprehensions.
“The team would not have been so reluctant game if any member of the operations team had tested positive. Almost all the players were in close contact with physio Yogesh Parmar. One must remember that Parmar tested positive four days after Shastri, Arun and Sridhar. The players had decided among themselves that it was necessary to break the chain of infection due to the boom in IPL and T20 World Cup. Players feared that if they mingled with each other, there was a risk of cases escalating every two-three days,” said a BCCI source
“These players have been in a bubble for a year now. No one wants the days of separation to gather on them. Even if you are fully vaccinated, you are still capable of spreading the infection. If the parents became infected, it would be difficult to care for young children. The players are grateful to BCCI for taking this stand for them,” claimed the source.
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