IPL 2021: No tracking bands, Bubble Integrity Officers to trace close contacts

The board has decided to do away with the contact tracing devices due to the need to constantly feed information into the Bluetooth bands, reported news agency ANI, quoting sources.

Instances of the devices malfunctioning during the India leg of the league earlier this year were also reported.

“The BCCI has decided to do away with the idea of wearing contact tracing bands as not only is it sometimes difficult to feed information for sportspersons during the course of a tournament, but also, we had a few instances earlier this year when the devices could not catch the movement of the players,” said the source.

“The fact that they had left a certain location was not updated and players and support staff realised this much later. As a result, it has been decided that the Bubble Integrity Officers present with the teams will keep a track of the movements and act accordingly if there is a case that comes up during the course of the tournament,” they added.

There will be four integrity officers with each team. They will work in shifts to help with the tracking process.

Health advisory for IPL

The board has come up with a 46-page health advisory that lays down the pointers that everyone associated with the IPL needs to follow in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the league.

All franchises will have to quarantine for six days before being able to enter the bio-bubble. The board has decided to set up 14 bio-bubbles and out of these 14, eight would belong to franchises.

“Within the Bio-Secure Environment, 14 bubbles will be created as mentioned below: Franchise teams and support staff – 8 Bubble, Match Officials and Match Management Team – 3 Bubbles, Broadcast Commentators and crew – 3 Bubbles,” states the health advisory.

“All franchise team members must quarantine in their hotel room for 6 full days before entering the bubble. Upon arrival and before commencing any group training activities, all team members who will be included in the bubble will follow the below-mentioned Covid-19 RT-PCR testing plan. A nasopharyngeal swab will be taken for testing. Test reports are available within 8-12 hours after sample collection,” it adds.

The board has also laid down strict instructions that everyone in the bubble must travel through dedicated vehicles only and everyone has been asked to follow this guideline to the core.

Just like last year, the BCCI has given go-ahead for bubble-to-bubble transfer hence the players coming from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), will be able to enter the IPL bubble straight away.

With inputs from agencies.