IPL 2021: Kings XI Punjab set to be renamed as Punjab Kings

The preparations for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have begun with the auction set to take place on February 18 in Chennai. While all the franchises are busy planning for the event, the Punjab franchise is set to rename the team name from Kings XI Punjab to Punjab Kings.

The team hasn’t been faring to the expectations over the last few seasons. Rather it is one of the most underperforming teams in the IPL and is one of the three teams to not win a title even once yet. Even the Delhi franchise changed the team name to Delhi Capitals from Delhi Daredevils a couple of years ago and the team has qualified for the playoffs in both the following seasons.

According to the reports in Cricbuzz, the franchise has made a formal communication to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and it is also understood that they have got the required approval for the same. It is also reported that the Punjab franchise is also planning for a grand launch of the new name in a couple of days in Mumbai.

BCCI introduced a brief quarantine clause for auction

Meanwhile, it has also been understood that the BCCI has introduced a brief quarantine clause for those attending auction on February 18. The attendees will have to get themselves tested and get quarantined before the reports of the test arrive.

“Before checking into their respective rooms, they (those arriving on February 17) will undergo a Rapid Antigen Test followed by an RT-PCR test for COVID-19 at the designated sampling kiosk set up in the hotel by the BCCI’s accredited testing agency. All individuals must quarantine in their respective rooms until results of the RT-PCR tests are available. Typically the reports will be available within 3-4 hours of sample collection,” the advisory sent by BCCI read.

For those arriving in the auction on February 18 itself, the advisory read, “All personnel arriving on the 18th February 2021 must quarantine in their respective rooms until results of the RT-PCR test are available. Reports of samples collected before 9 am on 18th February 2021 will be available by 1 pm. Only those individuals who have tested negative for COVID-19 will be permitted to attend the IPL 2021 auctions.”