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Mumbai Indians have become the first IPL team to fly-in their players - captain Rohit Sharma, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav - from England to the UAE via a charter flight for the second half of the tournament.
The players, along with their families, will now undergo six days of quarantine in Abu Dhabi before joining their teammates. All three tested negative for COVID-19 before leaving Manchester, and also after arriving in the UAE.
Mumbai Indians' official statement read:
"Mumbai Indians flew in three of its Indian contingent members, captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav, to Abu Dhabi on a private charter flight. The trio, along with their families, arrived today morning and will now undergo six days hard quarantine, starting today as per the IPL's guidelines. All members had returned negative RT PCR results before departure. A new RT PCR test was undertaken upon arrival at Abu Dhabi, which are negative as well."
The five-Test series in England had to be cut-off just before the last match after India's head coach Ravi Shastri and his backroom staff team tested positive for COVID-19. India are currently leading the series 2-1, and discussions on the infection breach and the possibility of holding the Test next year are ongoing.
Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are in top form and were India's best performers in the series. While the Mumbai Indians captain top-scored for the team with 368 runs, including a century, Bumrah took the most wickets - 18 - at an average of 20.83. Suryakumar Yadav didn't get an opportunity to showcase his skills.
After Mumbai Indians, CSK and RCB also ready to fly-in their stars
After Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are also ready to get their players back.
In this regard, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told ANI on Friday:
"Now that the Test match is off, we are looking to get the CSK boys into Dubai tomorrow.
RCB skipper Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj are also expected to reach the UAE by early Sunday morning on a charter flight. Like their Mumbai Indians counterparts, they will also undergo a six-day quarantine period before joining the team bubble.
IPL 2021 will kick off on September 19 with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in Dubai.
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