Explained: Life inside the PSL bubble in Abu Dhabi

The PSL arrived in the UAE on Thursday and began a quarantine period, at the end of which the league will resume a disrupted sixth season. Only 14 games were possible earlier this year in Karachi after a Covid-19 outbreak among players and staff ground the season to a halt. The remaining 20 games were originally meant to be played in Karachi again but had to be relocated to Abu Dhabi after the PCB and franchises worried about a worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.
Negotiations with Abu Dhabi authorities to stage the tournament in the emirate had to overcome a couple of difficult moments - as recently as two nights ago the season was in danger of not going ahead again - but the PCB has managed
put most of its pieces together now.
There are still details to be ironed out, not least a definitive start date, but around 270 personnel including local and overseas players, support staff, production crew and PCB officials landed in the UAE and are undergoing quarantine periods in hotels. There do remain a batch of players and league personnel yet to arrive from Pakistan, as well as broadcast production crews from India and South Africa. Before the end of this month, all stakeholders should be in place and in quarantine, though the staggered arrivals and differing quarantine periods means the start date will definitely be pushed back further.
Given how the season ended in Karachi, considerable focus will be on the bio-secure environment that a UK-based safety and technology company has established for the league. Some key differences are clear between the operating procedures in the bio-secure environments for the Abu Dhabi leg as compared to the Karachi leg.