The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Rajasthan Royals, Jake Lush McCrum, has confirmed that the England and Australia cricketers will be available for selection from the first day of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

According to a report by news agency ANI, the BCCI has relaxed the quarantine guidelines for the upcoming cricketers which had earlier put the availability of Australia and England cricketers under doubt.

Cricket’s oldest rivals are all set to square off in three T20Is and as many ODIs in England between September 4 and 16. The IPL will get underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 19.

The BCCI had earlier informed that any cricketer coming to participate in the cash-rich tournament would have to undergo a 7-day mandatory isolation and test COVID-19 negative on the first, third and sixth day of his quarantine before joining other players in the bio-secure bubble.

But with the relaxation of this guidelines, the English and Australian cricketers are expected to play from Day 1 of IPL.

“The BCCI protocols have actually been updated in the last few days and I’m pleased to say our English and Australian stars playing in the series pre IPL should beavailable for our first IPL match. Either way, we have a quality squad with the depth to manage any situation,” ANI quoted McCrum as saying.

“The English and Australian players will be competing against each other in a high-quality series right before the IPL which has many positives, the most important being it will enable them to be at full match fitness. I’m sure they will hit the ground running in the UAE for the IPL,” he added.

Rajasthan have the highest number of international cricketers from England and Australia with Steve Smith being their captain. Several other high-profile cricketers like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer also ply their trades with the Jaipur-based team.

Speaking about how Royals will be treating if a player tests positive for coronavirus or shows symptom of the virus, the COO said that the franchise have already set up a COVID task force to tackle the issue.

“Suspected or positive cases will immediately be isolated from the team and the case will be managed by the team doctor in accordance with the IPL medical team. Contract tracing will begin immediately. The BCCI has put together a list of accredited hospitals that will be fully equipped to handle all such cases. All cases will however be treated as per set guidelines and protocols of the UAE government,” McCrum said.