Big Boost For CPL 2020 As 162-Member Travelling Party Comprising Players, Support Staff Test Covid-19 Negative

All 162 members who flew into Trinidad and Tobago will now be placed under a 14-day quarantine period in the official hotel during which they will undergo regular tests to ascertain their Covid-19 status, said CPL in a statement on Thursday.

Caribbean Premier League

In what comes as a major boost for cricket fans and big relief for the organisers staging the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in the West Indies, the tournament organiser announced on Friday that all 162 members of the touring party , which includes players, officials and administrators, who have arrived in Trinidad and Tobago, tested negative for COVID-19. All 162 members who flew into Trinidad and Tobago will now be placed under a 14-day quarantine period in the official hotel during which they will undergo regular tests to ascertain their Covid-19 status, said CPL in a statement on Thursday. If any member of the party is found to have contracted the coronavirus, they will be removed from the hotel and placed in further isolation. Michael Hall, Tournament Operations Director, said: "It has been a colossal effort by all involved to get everyone safely into Trinidad & Tobago and we would like to thank everyone for their hard work and diligence." "Our main priority is the health and wellbeing of all those involved in CPL and the wider population in the host country, to have got through this first step without any cases is encouraging news, but we will remain vigilant." Meanwhile, the CPL also informed that there were three players and one coach who could not get onto the flight for Trinidad after testing positive for COVID-19. One player who tested positive for the coronavirus had been training with two others so all three were withdrawn. One coach tested positive before he departed so he was not able to travel. "These withdrawals are a sign of the testing protocols that CPL put in place working as they should, and while it is disappointing for the players and coaches involved, it is vital that CPL does nothing to compromise the safety of all those involved in the tournament and the public of Trinidad," said Hall. The 2020 edition of the CPL gets underway on August 18 with Guyana Amazon Warriors taking on the Trinbago Knight Riders in the opening game of the league. The edition will witness 33 games being played at two venues in Trinidad.The grand finale will take place on September 10. CPL 2020 is set to be the first franchise-based tournament to take place after the Covid-19 enforced halt