Cricket authorities in Australia and New Zealand rushed to evacuate star gamers from Covid-hit India on Wednesday, after the profitable Indian Premier League was deserted.
Also Read: IPL 2021 Suspended: Players Could Have Picked up the Virus at Airport, Says Report
Cricket Australia stated plans had been underneath method to fly 38 gamers and workers — together with superstars Steve Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins — to the relative security of the Maldives or Sri Lanka within the subsequent “two to three days.”
The Indian Premier League, the world’s richest Twenty20 cricket event, was suspended on Tuesday and gamers had been despatched house, as India battles an enormous surge in coronavirus circumstances.
But Australian cricketers discovered themselves in limbo — they’re banned from returning Down Under till at the very least May 15 after Canberra slammed shut its borders and threatened anybody coming into from India with jail time.
The group is probably going to be chartered again to Australia as soon as the ban has been lifted, with the assistance of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“The BCCI is working through arrangements to repatriate all the players, the support staff, and umpires commentators as quickly and safely as possible,” stated Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s interim CEO.
They are “working to move the entire cohort out of India… the BCCI has been working on a range of options. That’s now narrowed down to the Maldives and Sri Lanka.”
But the group departing India won’t embody 79-Test veteran Michael Hussey, the Chennai Super Kings batting coach, who has examined constructive for coronavirus and can stay in isolation.
“His symptoms are relatively mild,” stated Todd Greenberg, the Australian Cricketers’ Association chief government.
“So he’s okay, he’s in for a stint of isolation in his hotel room for at least 10 days, but he’s in pretty good spirits.”
Warner posted a drawing of his household made by one in every of his daughters on Instagram, with a heart-covered caption studying: “Please Daddy come home straight away. We miss you a lot and love you.” It gathered virtually 850,000 ‘likes’ in a couple of hours.
Two extra cricketers examined constructive for coronavirus on Wednesday — Delhi Capitals leg-spinner Amit Mishra and Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha.
Many of New Zealand’s prime gamers are attempting to journey to the United Kingdom the place they’re due to play a Test collection towards England subsequent month earlier than contesting the World Test Championship towards India.
New Zealand Cricket stated it was attempting to organise a constitution for Test gamers Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner, in addition to three gamers signed to English county sides.
Britain is presently solely permitting its personal residents to journey house from India however a New Zealand Cricket spokesman stated “we’re confident of getting border exemptions.”
He added one other constitution flight was doable to transport gamers, help workers and TV commentators house to New Zealand.
India, which has reported greater than 20 million infections thus far, with greater than 220,000 deaths, is due to host the Twenty20 World Cup from October.
The cash-rich IPL, going down in biosecure “bubble” situations, attracts most of the world’s prime cricketers, together with gamers from Australia, England and South Africa.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa stated that they had been involved with their gamers and help workers, working to deliver them house.
The IPL began in early April, with the choice to go forward within the face of a deepening well being disaster prompting criticism from some observers, whereas others defended it as a welcome distraction.
“It has been unedifying at times watching this tournament when people are dying just up the road,” stated former England captain Nasser Hussain within the Daily Mail.
“The mistake was made in having the tournament in India in the first place.
“Six months ago they held an IPL in the United Arab Emirates and it went brilliantly. Covid rates were low and no bubbles were compromised. They could have returned there.”
Get all of the IPL information and Cricket Score right here
