Are Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood available for IPL 2020 season opener between CSK and MI?

Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood: The English all-rounder and the Australian pacer are among the 22 players travelling from England to UAE.

As many as 22 English and Australian cricketers traveled in a chartered flight to reach UAE from England after the completion of the recently concluded Australia’s tour of England.

Under normal circumstances, no one would have even bothered to disrupt these players joining their respective franchises after landing in UAE. However, in times of COVID-19, they will have to pass a minimum of one negative COVID-19 test before joining their team and eventually taking the field in IPL 2020.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians remain unperturbed with the development due to them being the only team to not have a player playing in the white-ball series between England and Australia.

However, the likes of Chennai Super Kings (Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood), Rajasthan Royals (Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Steven Smith and Andrew Tye), Kings XI Punjab (Chris Jordan and Glenn Maxwell), Sunrisers Hyderabad (Jonny Bairstow, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh), Royal Challengers Bangalore (Moeen Ali, Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa and Joshua Philippe), Delhi Capitals (Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams) and  Kolkata Knight Riders (Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton and Pat Cummins) all were waiting for their players to finish their national duties.

Are Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood available for IPL 2020 season opener?

Given the mandatory quarantine rule for people entering a country, there were plentiful speculations around whether England all-rounder Sam Curran and Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood would be available for IPL 2020-season opener between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Considering the fact that the players have technically traveled form one bio-secure bubble to another, local government has made an exception for the IPL in reducing the 14-day quarantine period to only six days.

It is worth mentioning that this restriction is only applicable for teams based in Abu Dhabi, i.e., Kolkata Knight Riders. Only Morgan, Banton and Cummins will have to quarantine for six days before joining the rest of the squad. With Kolkata’s first match scheduled for September 23, mandatory quarantine won’t be an issue for them.

The remaining players will reportedly have to pass a negative Test before quarantining for only 36 hours. The development means that both Curran and Hazlewood (based in Dubai) will be available to play on September 19.

With vice-captain Suresh Raina and veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh already opting out of IPL 2020, Chennai not being devoid of players will give them better options around selecting their Playing XI for the first match.

“Yes, I can confirm that all the English and Australian players have to now undergo a 36-hour quarantine instead of six days. The matter has been sorted and of the teams will now have their big stars available for the first time itself,” a senior BCCI official opened up to PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Curran, who made his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab last season, will be representing his second franchise in Super Kings. Hazlewood, on the other hand, is yet to make his IPL debut.