Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Norjte, Lungi Ngidi to miss first IPL game for MI, DC, CSK

The IPL mania will be all over the country in just a few days time. The top cricketers have joined their respective team camps ahead of the tournament to follow bio-bubble protocols. The different cricket boards have decided to give no objection certificate to their top players to play till the playoffs of the IPL. But some players will still be missing the first week of the IPL due to their ongoing international series. At present, New Zealand is playing home series against Bangladesh and South Africa will be hosting Pakistan for the limited-overs series which will start from April 2.

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De Kock, Ngidi, Rabada and Nortje to miss first IPL 2021 game

The wicket-keeper batsman Quinton De Kock will be unavailable for the Mumbai Indians, while the pacers like Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje will miss the first IPL game for Delhi Capitals, and Ngidi for Chennai Super Kings.

South Africa is hosting Pakistan in the coming week and all their big players are a part of the ODI series, whereas they won’t play the T20I series, as everyone is off to India for the IPL. The last ODI game of the series is on 7th April and they will depart from Centurion to India after the game. The Key players will reach India on the 8th and will have to follow a certain protocol related to the bio-bubble which will not let them be a part of the first game from their respective franchise. Delhi Capitals will suffer the most, as they will miss their two main bowlers; Nortje and Rabada. The Delhi team has not posted any update for the bowlers, but the CSK CEO has given an update that Ngidi will join the squad only after 5 April.

“Ngidi will have to follow the same guidelines as others and will be put in quarantine once he arrives. Therefore he will not be available for selection for the opening game,” CSK CEO Vishwanathan said.

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What are the new COVID Guidelines for IPL 2021?

The strict guidelines have been laid out for the IPL 2021 to be organized behind closed doors.

“Players coming directly from the Bubble created for India vs. England series may be permitted to join the franchise squad without serving the mandatory quarantine period, provided they satisfy the criteria of moving directly to the franchise team hotel either in the team bus or on a chartered flight (sic),” the BCCI stated in a note, reported Cricbuzz.

“If chartered flights are used then all protocols for crew members must be followed. If the travel arrangements are to the satisfaction of the BCCI Chief Medical Officer then such players will directly enter the franchise team Bubble without the need to serve a quarantine period or undergo an RT-PCR test,” the note added.

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