CPL 2020 to be held in Trinidad and Tobago from August 18

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is all set to become the first major T20 league to take place amid coronavirus pandemic when the 2020 edition of the tournament take place at Trinidad and Tobago from August 18 to September 10.

The decision to go ahead with this year’s CPL from next month came after the league and the government of Trinidad and Tobago reached an an agreement for the whole of the 2020 season to be played in the country.

The likes of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Australia’s Chris Lynn, West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard and England’s Alex Hales are all set to take part in this year’s CPL.

Thanking the goverment for their support, CPL Chief Operating Officer Pete Russell said that they could not wait to bring high-class cricket to the Caribbean and to the entire world.

“We are really excited to bring high class cricket to the Caribbean and to the rest of the world. The standard of players involved in this year’s tournament will be higher than ever and we can’t wait to get the tournament under way,” CPL official website quoted Russell as saying.

In order to combat the further spread of coronavirus  to the population of Trinidad and Tobago and amongst those who will be travelling to the venue from overseas, the CPL has worked with the country’s Ministry of Health and its medical advisors to create coronavirus protocols.

All the players as well as team officials will be subject to strict quarantine protocols for the first two weeks they are in the country.

The overseas players, on the other hand, will be tested for coronavirus both before their departure and upon their arrival to Trinidad.

All the teams and officials will be put into ‘households’ where social distancing will be maintained. Within each household, there will be smaller clusters where the measures can be relaxed.

Meanwhile, all the members will undergo regular temperature checks besides also undergoing re-test for COVID-19 throughout their stay in Trinidad and again before departure.