Highlights:
- IPL 2020: Players, officials, family members will be required to wear contract tracing devices
- The data collected through these devices will be sent to the BCCI
- The players are exempt from wearing the device when on the field of play
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is doing all it could to help the teams of the 13th edition of the Indian premier league (IPL) fight the novel Coronavirus situation and stay safe as they get ready for IPL 2020.
In this effort, the Indian cricket board has handed contact tracing electronic badges to not only the players and the support staff but also the family members who are currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will be required to wear these badges at all times.
A franchise official said that all the teams have been provided with small badges which are the size of whistles and will be needed to be worn by everyone in and around the teams and the Bluetooth-enabled badges will help in contact tracing and the data collected will go directly to the BCCI.
The franchise official said, “The BCCI has put in place a robust system which sees not just the players, but also the support staff, officials and family members travelling with them wearing these BEEKs badges which will give the board a detailed report on who all we are coming in contact with by using data on movement and interaction.”
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The official added, “This actually helps if someone, unfortunately, turns positive as those in danger can be easily traced,”.
The official also said, “While one can open the badge when inside the room, it needs to be worn at all times when outside the designated rooms. Also, it can be opened when the players enter the field of play,”.
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Praising the efforts put in by the BCCI in these difficult times of global COVID-19 pandemic, another franchise official said that the Health Application has also been provided to every travelling member wherein all the people will be required to do is check the daily temperature and log the same in.
The official said, “The health app is brilliant and moreover, it can pre-empt if your body is vulnerable to some foreign body or if you are at a health risk. That way, you can keep a tab on how you manage your activities” and added, “All you need to do is check your temperature and log it on the application. The rest is taken care of by the app,”.
Another official from a franchise said that a webinar was organised by the BCCI with all the 8 franchises of the IPL 2020 to not only educate them of the protocols but also clear any doubts the team members would have had with regards to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The official said, After coming in, we had a webinar wherein a team from BCCI helped all the franchises once again go through the dos and don’ts,”.
“We already had the SOP given by the board, but they asked us if we had any further queries post landing and some of the doubts we had even after going through the SOP were cleared in that webinar.
“The diktat is very clear and all the BCCI wants the teams to do is focus on the cricket while the professional team of the BCCI and the Emirates Cricket Board takes care of the COVID situation,” the official added.
