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BCCI SOP: Arun Lal And Dav Whatmore Cannot Coach, Players to Sign Consent Form

The 100-page SOPs has been prepared by the BCCI for a safe resumption of cricket activities across the country in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

BCCI Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) bars individuals over the age of 60 years from taking part in pre-season camp. The SOP thus means the likes of Arun Lal (Bengal coach) and Dav Whatmore (Baroda coach) will have to skip the preparatory camps.

The 100-page SOPs has been prepared by the BCCI for a safe resumption of cricket activities across the country in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

“Individuals who are over the age of 60 years, viz support staff, umpires, ground staff and those individuals with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, weakened immunity, should be considered vulnerable and are believed to have higher risk of severe COVID-19,” read one of the guidelines from BCCI’s 100-page SOP, which is in possession of PTI.

“All such individuals should be discouraged from participating in camp activities unless suitable guidelines are issued by the government,” it stated.

Whatmore, 66, was appointed Baroda coach in April while Lal, 65, guided Bengal to the Ranji Tropohy final last season.

A senior BCCI official told the news agency that it will be difficult to breach the protocols and unfortunate that Lal and Whatmore will have to miss out.

“This is SOP. It will be very difficult for any teams to breach the protocols. It is unfortunate that someone like Lal ji or Whatmore might have to miss out,” a the official said.

As per the SOPs, the players will have to sign a consent form before training resumption acknowledging the risks involved.

Ahead of the training camps, the medical team will have to obtain the medical history of the players and staff for the previous two weeks through an online questionnaire. Those suspected to have coronavirus-like symptoms will have to undergo PCR tests.

“Two tests one day apart (Day 1 & Day 3) should be done to account for false negatives. If both the test results are negative, only then they should be included in the camp,” reads the SOPs.

“A webinar before commencement and in-person education workshop on Day 1 of the camp must be conducted by the CMO (Chief Medical Officer) for all players & staff…” it added.

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