Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley on Monday said that the Board has no plans to arrange a charter flight to bring its players back home from a COVID-19-ravaged India once the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 gets over.
"There's no suggestion at the moment of any charter flight," Hockley told Melbourne radio station SEN.
Hockley insisted that Australian players are feeling safe and secure in the IPL bio-bubble but his comments came before it emerged that two Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier have tested positive, which has led to the postponement of the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday.
Mumbai Indians batsman Chris Lynn had recently claimed he had requested Cricket Australia to arrange for a charter flight for Australia players after the tournament concludes on May 30.
The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back. The government has also threatened its returning citizens with five years of jail term or a penalty of 66,000 Australian dollars (USD 50,899), a decision which has been criticized by IPL commentator Michael Slater.
If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It's a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect
— Michael Slater (@mj_slats) May 3, 2021
(With inputs from PTI)