Making it possible: CPL breaking barriers in hosting bio-secure tournament

By Brandon Corlette

At the inception of the deadly coronavirus, all sport events were postponed. After a lengthy period, the return of sports crept upon us but it was all different. The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) management team maintained faith and kept working towards the creation of a safe and secure 2020 Hero CPL.
All players have undergone the necessary testing, where all have tested negative and have been in isolation at the Hilton Hotel. The news emerging from the Hilton Hotel in Trinidad and Tobago has been good since these players travelled to the bio-secure bubble. 
When the tournament bowls off on Tuesday, August 18, with the Guyana Amazon Warriors and host, Trinbago Knight Riders, it will be an atmosphere of significant difference. All the matches are being played in Trinidad across two venues – the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and Queens Park Oval. In previous years, the atmosphere in the stands has been electric, but this year that will all change due to the strict protocols in place.
The CPL players have shared their experiences in the bio-secure bubble at the Hilton Hotel in Trinidad and Tobago on social media, and have made the necessary adjustments despite the challenges. It is compulsory that each of these players undergo a strict 14-day quarantine period, which has already begun.
After the seventh day of the quarantine, players are able to move around the Hilton Hotel in groups of four or five. Most of these players have been doing training in their rooms while following sporting events around the world virtually. Players have undergone the second COVID-19 testing and the teams have begun training.
Some players have shared concerned sentiments about preparation heading into the tournament. It was seen earlier in the week that the local franchise, Trinbago Knight Riders, has engaged in outdoors training while other teams spent more time on lockdown at the Hilton Hotel.
As players began their mobility at the Hilton after the seventh day of isolation, Guyana Amazon Warriors’ (GAW) Chris Green and a group of four GAW players were seen on the tennis court at the Hilton, training outdoors for an hour. Local boys Kevin Sinclair and Romario Shepherd, along with USA’s Jasdeep Singh, were in one of the groups of four.
Earlier, T&T Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, who is fresh from a victory in the country’s election, stressed that the August 18-September 10 cricket event would be executed inside a “bubble” at the Hilton Hotel with all persons involved subjected to the rigorous protocols already in place.
“Everything that will go on around the CPL will go on in a bubble that does not interact with the national population,” Dr Rowley said. “[Arriving players and officials] would be coming into the country under the protocols of entry, all having tested negative before. When they come here, they are confined to the Hilton Hotel and that becomes a bubble for them.”
He added: “[These persons] will go to a venue to play the game where they will not interact with the population. So, therefore, the CPL is a bubble that has nothing to do with what goes on with the population in the country.” The bio-secure way is the method that has been undertaken to host cricket matches and tournaments and it has proven successful in England thus far. No use of saliva, as well as social distancing and all other measures, were seen in England and this CPL is expected to take a similar route in terms of strict COVID-19 protocols.
While many may prefer the presence at the stadium, this is the new norm and fans will have to engage in these matches virtually. The viewership will be of great importance as the CPL looms.