The world is striving hard to regain normalcy during the overwhelming fear surfaced across due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so is BCCI. BCCI is trying to set the ball rolling for IPL again with the bio-bubble experiment.

A bio-bubble or bio-secure environment is being used to curb the probable corona transfusion. Now the question arises, what is a bio-bubble?

Imagine every player on the field wrapped in such cocoon. What a sight it would be!

This is certainly not what bio-bubble means. Bio-bubble can be put in words as physical insulation from the external world to prevent against the probable corona prospect. There are many more things that go behind the curtains to resume these cross border sports.

The Background

Since the Big Bang, this novel Coronavirus pandemic has been the dreadful calamity upon mankind, much worse than the World Wars. The world has come to a standstill with billions stranded at their homes struggling with the social and economic consequences.

Streets are empty, shops are closed and the media fear-mongering round the clock. Life in lock-down is confined to four walls with everyone trying to keep themselves occupied.

The COVID outbreak has left a huge question mark on the return of sports across the globe. Eventually most of the major sports events have been either postponed like the Tokyo Olympics, T20 World Cup or canceled like Wimbledon.

How a bio-bubble is maintained?

The main objective of such bio-secure environment is to isolate players and people involved from the outside world to minimize the risk of corona transmission.

Their movements are restricted to a confined place and physical states tracked regularly to avoid any unpleasant crossover. It would look similar to home quarantine but in a broader sense with players and management staff limiting themselves to hotels, stadiums, and training facilities.

Preparation by BCCI

With fans contemplating not having an IPL season this year, BCCI has made sure that fans don’t miss out on the action this year as well. With conditions not favoring in India, the promise for the resumption of cricket is fulfilled by taking IPL to UAE.

BCCI would be closely monitoring the bio-secure environment in the recent Test series of England-West Indies and England-Pakistan in the UK. It’s going to be a challenging task for the logistics team to maintain norms and make sure everything goes as per plan without any bad news.

Four broad categories where BCCI would be specifically maintaining a bio-secure environment to are:

Traveling

Transportation is the first hurdle. Airports being prone to international traffic, it’s important to take proper care while traveling. Players have to wear masks, gloves, and PPE kits. A special chartered flight will be arranged for each team and social distancing will follow in every aspect.

Hotels

Hotels, resorts will be sanitized regularly. Every team will stay in different hotels.

There will a pathway mentioned in corridors for the movement of people. Positions will be marked in lifts and elevators with people standing with their backs facing each other.

Sanitizers will be installed at regular distances.

Players have to order their food in respective rooms and avoid group gatherings apart from team activities.

Bio-secure stadiums

One bad news for cricketing fans would be that there will be no spectators inside stadiums during matches. Imagine a MS Dhoni last ball six or a Virat Kohli cover drive followed by no shouting and cheer by the crowd.

But having said that, IPL will be resumed and we will be able to watch our superstars go about their business on the celluloid. The stadium will be divided into different zones with access to a limited number of people.

Zone 1: This is the interior of stadiums. It includes the main ground, dressing rooms and will allow players, coaching staff, ground staff, substitutes, match officials, certain medic staff, and media personnel.

Zone 2: This is the stand in the stadiums. Only media people, cameraman, and control room men will be allowed.

Zone 3: This is the exterior of stadiums and includes property outside the arena. The police and security personnel will have jurisdiction in the public space in this zone.

Other training facilities

This includes regular sanitization of facilities like gyms, swimming pools, indoor net facilities.

Preparation of players

With over three months in house arrest, the main concern for the professional athletes would be regarding their physical fitness. No practice for so long tends the body to be a bit lethargic and doubt over the skills as they haven’t been tested for so long.

The team management and the fitness coaches made sure to keep their players on the toes by providing them tasks and goals that would keep their body ticking.

Some players also conducted few fitness challenges among themselves and were open to showcase it on social media which can be considered as part of entertainment but gave a competitive edge to beat each other with people commenting on every post. This individual training was very essential before all the players are subjected to rigorous group training.

Players checklist

It all boils down to the actual implementation of the guidelines. Players are seen with protective gears at the airports. Mandatory self-quarantine for players and staff inside hotels after traveling.

This certainly would take a mental toll on players but the fact that they are out there, buckling up for the action in a few weeks is enough motivation.

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Not just self-quarantine but there are a lot more to-dos for the players.

They will be tested twice a week. The medical staff will be following them like a tail.

Every player has to install an app to track his physical condition. The first task in the morning for the players along with brewing the coffee will be to monitor their body temperatures via a thermometer and feed it into the app.

Then fill out the questionnaire about any signs or symptoms. Only when the app provides a green signal, players are allowed to exit their respective rooms.

Face masks are mandatory while roaming within hotel corridors and sanitizers being installed at every corner of the pathway.

The substitutes will sit well apart from each other following social distancing norms with masks during the game.

With players and support staff given all the guidelines, they will be punished if found violating the bio-security protocol.

Match Officials checklist

Apart from players and coaching staff, other important people involved in this game are the umpires. Umpires will also follow all the protocols laid down by the IPL medical team.

Umpires and other match officials will also be monitored regularly.

Another most important responsibility of the on-field umpires will be to put an eagles eye on the match ball. One of the measures that will be followed in this tournament is the no saliva rule on the ball.

It is a common practice by the players to shine the ball using saliva. It’s like second nature for bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah to use saliva on the ball. Now the umpires have to monitor this and sanitize the ball immediately if anyone breached this rule. One such incident happened in the England-West Indies series where the umpire had to intervene and sanitize the ball.

Now bowlers can’t pass on their gear like a cap, jumper, sweater to umpires on the field.

Challenges for BCCI

The biggest challenge with BCCI to arrange this year’s IPL would be the logistics.

The bio-bubble environment has led to a tremendous load on management and a great deal of pressure to enable the highest degree of isolation of these athletes. One mishap would ruin the whole tournament.

Another obstacle is that the bio-security committee protocol requires regular repeated screening for each player, which means BCCI would need to acquire a considerable amount of testing kits and medical staff.

Challenges for players

Same people, Same place, Same room

You could be in these bio-bubbles for few weeks and being trapped in the hotel rooms can be tough.

Players who are unable to self-motivate will struggle during these long periods of isolation. It will surely hamper the mindset of players especially so when there are so many restrictions within the bio-bubble.

On top of that with no family members along, it will not be easy for the players particularly when your team is not riding the winning ways.

Bio-bubble for players would be like a space bubble for astronauts but the feeling of playing such competitive cricket can boost their morale and is enough for self-motivation.

Fans reaction

With major sporting events getting postpone or canceled, as a cricket fan, it is a moment of delight to see IPL being resumed within these bio-bubble or bio-secure environments. It will be interesting to see matches in-front of empty stands.

There will be many hurdles on the way but as they say, “The show must go on…“