{ "id": "75532", "author": "26", "cnmid": "0", "title": "CA Narrows Maldives Or Sri Lanka To Evacuate Australian Players In IPL", "lang": "en", "series": "424", "cup_year": "2021", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Cricket authorities in Australia and New Zealand rushed to evacuate star players from Covid-hit India on Wednesday after the lucrative Indian Premier League was abandoned. Cricket Australia said plans", "subtype": "", "editor1": "

Cricket authorities in Australia and New Zealand rushed to evacuate star players from Covid-hit India on Wednesday after the lucrative Indian Premier League was abandoned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Cricket Australia said plans were under way to fly 38 players and staff -- including superstars Steve Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins -- to the relative safety of the Maldives or Sri Lanka in the next "two to three days."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Indian Premier League, the world's richest Twenty20 cricket tournament, was suspended on Tuesday and players were sent home, as India battles a massive surge in coronavirus cases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But Australian cricketers found themselves in limbo -- they are banned from returning Down Under until at least May 15 after Canberra slammed shut its borders and threatened anyone entering from India with jail time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The group is likely to be chartered back to Australia once the ban has been lifted, with the help of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"The BCCI is working through arrangements to repatriate all the players, the support staff, and umpires commentators as quickly and safely as possible," said Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia's interim CEO.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But the group departing India will not include 79-Test veteran Michael Hussey, the Chennai Super Kings batting coach, who has tested positive for coronavirus and will remain in isolation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"His symptoms are relatively mild," said Todd Greenberg, the Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"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."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Warner posted a drawing of his family made by one of his daughters on Instagram, with a heart-covered caption reading: "Please Daddy come home straight away. We miss you a lot and love you." It gathered almost 850,000 'likes' in a few hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Two more cricketers tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday -- Delhi Capitals leg-spinner Amit Mishra and Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Many of New Zealand's top players are trying to travel to the United Kingdom where they are due to play a Test series against England next month before contesting the World Test Championship against India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

New Zealand Cricket said it was trying to organise a charter for Test players Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner, as well as three players signed to English county sides.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Britain is currently only allowing its own citizens to travel home from India but a New Zealand Cricket spokesman said "we're confident of getting border exemptions."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

He added another charter flight was possible to transport players, support staff and TV commentators home to New Zealand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

India, which has reported more than 20 million infections so far, with more than 220,000 deaths, is due to host the Twenty20 World Cup from October.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The cash-rich IPL, taking place in biosecure "bubble" conditions, attracts many of the world's top cricketers, including players from Australia, England and South Africa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa said that they were in contact with their players and support staff, working to bring them home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The IPL started in early April, with the decision to go ahead in the face of a deepening health crisis prompting criticism from some observers, while others defended it as a welcome distraction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"It has been unedifying at times watching this tournament when people are dying just up the road," said former England captain Nasser Hussain in the Daily Mail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"The mistake was made in having the tournament in India in the first place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"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."
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