More than 20,000 coronavirus tests will be conducted during the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to a report carried by AFP, 3,500 tests have already been done so far.

All the members of the eight franchises had to undergo mandatory six-day quarantine after arriving in UAE and were tested thrice during that period. The rule applied for the match officials, organisers and the BCCI officials as well.

“During the course of the tournament, we will be conducting over 20,000 tests,” a spokesman of the medical team was quoted as saying to AFP (accessed via PTI).

“The movement of the players and other officials of the IPL are strictly restricted between the hotel and the stadium,” the spokesman said.

The organisers were off to a rocky beginning after 13 members, including two players, of the Chennai Super Kings franchise tested positive for COVID-19.

BCCI, too, confirmed the news soon after. Releasing an official statement, the richest cricket board informed that members of all the squads were tested first when they landed in UAE and on the third and the sixth day of their six-day quarantine. It was during this testing procedures that the 13 positive results were detected.

Even though the BCCI did not confirm which team the 13 coronavirus-positive personnel belonged to, media reports from different sources had made it clear that all of them were from Chennai Super Kings.

The three-time champions have already lost veteran batsman Suresh Raina who has opted out of the tournament due to “personal reasons”. Meanwhile, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s availability is also doubtful for the season.

Sri Lankan veteran pacer Lasith Malinga, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and England batsman Jason Roy, who plies his trade with Delhi Capitals, have also pulled their name out of the cash-rich tournament.

The 2020 season of the IPL will be played for 53 days from September 19 to November 10 across three venues in the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.

The final match will be played on a Tuesday, to make it the first-ever IPL to have its final on a weekday. The matches this season will also start 30 minutes before their original time of 4 PM and 8 PM.

The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to be played from March 29 this year, was earlier postponed to April 15 before it was suspended again due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.