As all eight Indian T20 League teams wait out their quarantine periods after touching down in the UAE for the 2020 running of the tournament, Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has warned all players against breaking safety rules designed to protect the participants from the global virus.
It was during Bangalore's virtual meeting where Kohli issued the warning, stating that a player caught breaching the safety rules "is letting the whole team down.
"It might happen at a stage of the tournament where we cannot afford to lose that player.
"If we get harmed by it, then the whole system, the whole team, the whole culture loses. I want everyone to understand the repercussions."
Kohli's statements were accompanied by the squad's director of cricket operations Mike Hesson's warning that any conscious violation of the safety policies laid down by the team would be handled 'very seriously'.
"If somebody breaks this bubble that we have worked incredibly hard to put in place, it actually affects the whole tournament," Hesson said.
"It's not just Bangalore, it is the tournament, it is the TV rights, so there will be strong consequences if players choose to do that."
With the Indian T20 League being a tremendous cash cow for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it is not surprising that the contract signed by each Indian T20 League player reportedly stipulates heavy financial penalties for any breach of their global virus safety protocols.
The Indian T20 League is set to get underway on September 19 and conclude on November 10. The decision to move the event, which was originally scheduled to be held in India in March, to the UAE, was in reaction to the rising number of global virus cases in the series' home nation.
During the ongoing six-day quarantine period, the players will have to test negative for three virus tests before they will be allowed to begin training.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Arun Sankar
