Tata Group’s medical wing proposes to setup bio-secure bubbles for the IPL in UAE

The 2020 edition of the IPL finally has a window, with the tournament beginning on the 19th of September and running up to the 10th of November. The tournament set to be played out in an unprecedented scenario, and under unfamiliar safety territory. Like with any major change in the environment, the pandemic brings with it a set of new opportunities for innovation. As witnessed already in the Test series hosted by England against the touring West Indies team, the setting up of a bio-secure bubble gains priority. With the opportunity as big as the IPL, the Tata group’s medical arm has offered its expertise in creating a safe environment for the tournament.

In a document accessed by the Times of India, the medical wing of the Tata group recognizes the IPL as an "inflection point for the global sport in the post-COVID world”, and has offered to create "a holistic, state-of-the-art integrated Bridgital technology-based, end-to-end, COVID safety services solution and enable the league to set the gold standard”.

The key elements of the proposal of the Tata group to the BCCI include - 

The Medical and Diagnostics team in UAE and India will partner with and work alongside BCCI, franchises, the IPL event management team, and Emirates Cricket Board, for end-to-end COVID safety management.

Bio-Security Approach based on an understanding of the inherent criticality and risk levels of the stakeholders, and the usage of various zones in the venues. 

Testing strategy suitable for IPL requirements, innovations in test execution, interpretation, and intelligence generated through results.  

Technology solutions to track the movement of participants, enabled for AI-driven insights, and live-dashboards. 

All interventions including testing will be customized for IPL at the stadium and hotel venues with experts, 24x7 clinical support, and risk profiling.

The proposal also categorizes the intensity of safety measures based on the internet risk of contraction. For instance, the stakeholders have been divided into three - Platinum which includes players and support staff, Gold which covers the broadcast crew, and Silver under which the match-day entertainers are classified. Further, the stakeholders can also be divided based on either the risk of contraction of COVID-19 or the risk of transmitting the disease. While the broadcast crew will be at a higher risk of contraction owing to the inability to avoid social proximity, the support staff and players will be at a higher risk of transmitting as there is a higher probability of them interacting with more people. The different areas of the stadium shall also be categorized into the Sanctum - the playing field and the dressing rooms, Exclusive - media and TV Broadcast areas, and Controlled - the concourse.

"On the advice of the top scientists working with the Government of India, we have designed a special and simple testing protocol, specifically for IPL 2020. This protocol can be executed on a regular basis, in the stadium as well as the hotels, without disruption to the schedules of the players and key stakeholders. We propose to use multiple state-of-the-art technology solutions to track the movement of participants in various venues using non-intrusive devices and solutions. We will also evaluate and integrate various technologies and regulatory requirements in UAE as needed," the Tata Group has told the BCCI.

The BCCI is expected to take a final call on the matter by the end of this week.

[TOI inputs]