The situation in India is worrying to say the least. There has been a spike in the COVID-19 cases in India and things have been really horrifying. India is recording close to 3 lakh cases everyday and thus, everyone in India has been asked to stay indoors. The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) is taking place in India. While there hasn’t been any cases reported post the players joining their respective bio-bubbles, a few players have been uncomfortable and afraid after seeing the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India and have thus, decided to return back home. This includes a few Australian players as well. Aussies like Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Marsh made themselves unavailable before the start of IPL-2021, but a few players have decided to go back home now. This includes Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson.
“There was a number of reasons [for leaving], but the main one was with the situation that has started to happen back home in Perth with a lot of cases in hotel quarantine coming out of India,” Tye told SEN radio from Doha on Monday as he transited onto a flight to Sydney. “Now there’s been a community case in Perth governments are trying to restrict numbers coming back in, especially Western Australia.” “I just thought to try and get on the front foot and get home before I got locked out of the country. It’s been a long time in bubbles and hubs – doing the calculations earlier, think I’ve had 11 days at home out of the bubble since August, so for me I just wanted to get home” Said the Rajasthan fast bowler. A lot of guys have been in touch today once they realised I was leaving. Some of the guys are very interested in what route I took home and other guys are just happy to make sure I’m okay. Not sure if I’ll be the only one.” “They are having over 300,000 cases a day and they are only the ones being reported, we know there’s probably a lot more than that number who can’t get tested. Yes, the IPL and BCCI have done an amazing job of keeping us safe but at the same time it’s tough and you also feel bad for the amount of people out there with Covid and we are still able to play cricket.”
After a few rumours, it was reported on Monday that Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson would return home back to Australia and skip the remainder of IPL-2021. . “Adam Zampa & Kane Richardson are returning to Australia for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of #IPL2021. Royal Challengers Bangalore management respects their decision and offers them complete support,” RCB tweeted. One of the major reasons for them deciding to go back homes is that the flight restrictions have been more tougher. A few reports suggest that we might see a few more Australian players do the same. Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association issued a joint statement regarding the ongoing scenario. “Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association remain in regular contact with Australian players, coaches and commentators taking part in the Indian Premier League, which is being conducted under strict biosecurity protocols,” they said. “We will continue to listen to feedback from those on the ground in India and the advice of the Australian Government. Our thoughts are with the people of India at this difficult time.”