This season's Indian Premier League is still a month away but cricket aficionados in the UAE will get an early taste of the IPL with the various franchises touching down in the country over the long weekend.
The UAE is ready to roll out the red carpet for the eight teams who will arriving over the next few days.
And the first to set foot here would be the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. The Royals, the inaugural champions of the competition in 2008, will land on Thursday and will make Dubai their base.
So too would be Kings XI Punjab, who too have Dubai as their base.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will fly in on Friday and the most successful franchise with four titles, have opted Abu Dhabi as their home.
The Chennai Super Kings, led by talisman MS Dhoni, too will land on Friday and will be based out of Dubai.
Indian captain Virat Kohli and his men from the Royal Challengers Bangalore too would be based in Dubai and will arrive on Friday.
Two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders, have opted to land on Saturday and will use the UAE capital as their home.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Capitals will be the last two teams to touch down in the country. The Sunrisers, winners in 2016, and the Delhi Capitals will fly in on Sunday with both the teams opting for Dubai as their base.
But the franchises won't be hitting the ground just yet. The teams, who will be inside a bio-secure bubble over the course of the 53-day tournament, will be operating under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) mapped out by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the UAE authorities.
Every member of the squad - players, support staff and the team management - will have to produce a negative Covid-19 PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test report issued no more than 96 hours before arrival in the UAE.
The teams will then undertake a mandatory Covid-19 test at the port of entry in the UAE. They will then undergo quarantine at their plush hotels, apartments or resorts. They will be tested on arrival at the team hotel and will undergo tests on day three and six during their quarantine period.
If all the three tests are found to be negative, the teams will go into the bio-secure bubble and will begin training.
There will be follow up tests every fifth day and there will be additional tests done when travelling from one city to another.
WHEN WILL TEAMS ARRIVE IN THE UAE?
Rajasthan Royals
August 20, Dubai
Kings XI Punjab
August 20, Dubai
Mumbai Indians
August 21, Abu Dhabi
Chennai Super Kings
August 21, Dubai
Royal Challengers Bangalore
August 21, Dubai
Kolkata Knight Riders
August 22, Abu Dhabi
Delhi Capitals
August 23, Dubai
Sunrisers Hyderabad
August 23, Dubai
PROTOCOLS TO BE FOLLOWED BY TEAMS:
* Players and staff of each team need a negative Covid-19 PCR test report issued no more than 96 hours before arrival in the UAE
* Players and staff of each team to undergo mandatory Covid-19 test at UAE airports
Protocols on arrival:
One-week quarantine
All tests can be collected 24 hours after sample collection
Testing timeline on arrival:
Day 1: Test 1 on arrival at team hotel
Day 3: Test 2
Day 6: Test 3
* Players and staff of each team to remain quarantined in their hotel rooms for seven days
* If all three tests are negative, players and team support staff will enter and remain within the bio-secure environment for the IPL
* Follow up testing: Every five days
* Additional testing: Will be required for matches in another city
* Traveling from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, everyone has to present a negative Covid-19 PCR Test report issued no more than 48 hours before reaching the check post
