IPL 13: Here's What BCCI Has Planned For the Event in UAE

The BCCI will finalise its plans for the upcoming season of IPL in the UAE through three rounds of meetings with franchise owners, sponsors and broadcasters staring with a governing council meet on Saturday through teleconference.

The BCCI and IPL governing council (GC) is preparing a draft on various protocols to be followed during the event in the UAE. "Once we share what we do with the franchises, we know there will be questions. We need to be thoroughly prepared," IPL GC chairman Brijesh Patel told The Times of India.

The leading daily further reported that the board is working on drafting various policies including bio-secure bubble, gate revenue, travel and accommodation, medical assistance among other things.

The teams will have to create their own bio-secure bubbles and players will be interacting with limited number of people. This will be replicated for all the officials as well and they will be permitted to interact outside the bubble only through coordinators.

With the event likely to be played inside empty stadiums, franchises will have to bear the loss of gate money. There have been reports of team owners hoping that BCCI will come up with a policy to negate or at least lessen the financial hit due to loss of the revenue source. However, board reckons the franchises should be ready to let go of the gate money since there wouldn't have been any income if the tournament was altogether cancelled in the first place.

Additionally, since it will be a full-fledged tournament, there will be no change in revenue distribution.

While there will be a central medical team of BCCI, the franchises will have to arrange of their own such teams. The testing will be the responsibility of the franchises in the UAE and medical teams will be part of their respective biosecurity bubble.

The policy regarding player replacement remains the same though reserve players will be allowed to travel with the teams.