CPL 2020: All players, officials test negative for Covid-19

The Caribbean Premier League on Friday (August 7) confirmed all its players, officials and administrators have tested negative for coronavirus. The 162-member unit has arrived in Trinidad & Tobago for the 2020 edition of the CPL.

All members will now be quarantined for a period of 14 days in their hotel rooms and will be regularly tested for the virus. If any player or official is tested positive, they will be further isolated from the rest of the lot according to the safety protocols in T&T. As of now, every single travelling member has gotten the green signal.

“It has been a colossal effort by all involved to get everyone safely into Trinidad & Tobago and we would like to thank everyone for their hard work and diligence. Our main priority is the health and wellbeing of all those involved in CPL and the wider population in the host country, to have got through this first step without any cases is encouraging news, but we will remain vigilant,” said Michael Hall, Tournament Operations Director. 

The CPL is set to become the first major T20 cricket league to start amidst the ongoing global pandemic. Starting on August 18, the tournament will go on till September 10. 33 games will be played across two venues in Trinidad, all behind closed doors. A biosecure environment will be created similar to that in England, with strict protocols for every team to follow.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors will take on the Trinbago Knight Riders in the tournament opener on August 18.

Fabian Allen misses the flight, literally

West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen has been ruled out of CPL 2020 after the cricketer missed his flight from Jamaica to Barbados. The St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots player was supposed to reach Barbados on an internal flight on Monday, August 3. From there on, players would be chartered to Trinidad. However, Allen was late to the airport and ended up missing the flight.

Trinidad & Tobago’s strict lockdown rules mean that Allen won’t be able to get in now that he’s missed his charter. Unfortunately, his CPL team will not be able to name his replacement under such circumstances.

Apart from Allen, three Afghanistan players – Qais Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Noor Ahmad are also set to miss the tournament. The players didn’t have the mandatory transit visa to pass through the UK and board their charter flights.

BREAKING: Squads For Hero Cpl Confirmed! Read More: https://t.co/wXWkHfKd4r #CPL20 #CricketPlayedLouder #Squads pic.twitter.com/BZHOrwC3N8

— CPL T20 (@CPL) August 7, 2020