'Net Set Go!': Skipper Rohit Sharma & Mumbai Indians jump to training post quarantine

Skipper Rohit Sharma led the Mumbai Indians back into the ground after the COVID forced break as the franchise hit the nets on Saturday as it completed its mandatory one-week quarantine upon landing in the UAE. Sharma, who had a swing with the bat, remarked that it is good to be back, even if was just for an hour. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also had a go at the wicket while getting used to the 'new normal'.

 “Feels good to be back. Even though it's only for an hour, but we'll take it,” said skipper Rohit Sharma as he geared up and walked out to bat at the net session. 

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COVID hits IPL 2020

With just three weeks remaining for the IPL 2020 to begin and the Coronavirus has already jolted a big blow to the T20 tournament which had to be moved to the UAE due to the pandemice. The BCCI on Saturday, confirmed that 13 personnel have been infected with the virus including two players. The BCCI has also informed that a total of 1988 RT-PCR Tests have been conducted between August 20-28 and that all affected personnel and their close contacts are 'asymptomatic' and have been isolated. 

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"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 Season, which is scheduled to start from September 19th in the UAE. Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme. Total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th across all participant groups in the UAE. These groups include Players, Support Staff, Team Management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, Hotel and ground transport Staff," the BCCI said in a statement on Saturday. 

IPL 2020 in UAE

The cash-rich tournament, which was earlier postponed, has been moved to the UAE due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament is all set to start on September 19 while the final will be played on November 10. The BCCI has already issued an SOP for the tournament and has also allowed COVID-19 replacement during the tournament. Recently, Dream11 acquired the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 for a whopping amount of Rs 220 crore after Vivo's exit. This year's edition will also feature COVID replacements that have been allowed by the governing body in view of the pandemic.

Mumbai Indians Full Squad 

Rohit Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn , Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Aditya Tare

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