File photo of Steve Smith.
Australian players will be leaving for their country in the next 48 hours after the IPL 2021 got postponed due to four players and other staff testing COVID-19 positive, reported Fox Sports as Cricket Australia spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
As many as 38 Australian players, coaches, commentators and umpires were left stranded in India as soon as the IPL was postponed due to the Australian Government’s strict travel restrictions – which will not be uplifted until May 15 at the earliest.
Speaking to reporters at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground, CA chief Nick Hockley said BCCI has already sort out a plan to repatriate Australian players – including David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Ricky Ponting – as quickly and safely as possible.
“What the BCCI are hoping to do is move the entire cohort out of India, where they will wait until it’s possible to return to Australia,” Hockley was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
“The BCCI are working on a range of options – that’s been narrowed down to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The BCCI are working through the finer details of that at the moment.
“We expect that that move will happen within the next two days.
“We’re in very regular dialogue (with the players) … their welfare is our absolute No. 1 priority.”
