NEW DELHI: Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa and fast bowler Kane Richardson have joined compatriot Andrew Tye in cutting short their Indian Premier League (IPL) season and heading home as India struggles with a massive surge in Covid-19 cases.
Tye, who was with the Rajasthan Royals, flew to Sydney on Sunday via Mumbai and Doha, citing the “stress of bubble life” and concerns about borders closing in Australia.
“I just thought I should try and get on the front foot and get home before I got locked out of the country,” he told Australian radio station SEN. “I think I’ve had 11 days at home and out of the bubble since August.”
“There’s definitely concerns,” Tye added. “A lot of guys have been in touch today once they’ve realised I was leaving.”
Zampa and Richardson have decided to follow suit, with Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday saying the pair were unavailable for the rest of the IPL season and were returning to Australia for “personal reasons”.
“Royal Challengers Bangalore management respects their decision and offers them complete support,” the franchise said on Twitter.
A number of Australia’s top cricketers remain in India, including batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner plus paceman Pat Cummins.
India reported 349,691 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the fourth straight day of record peaks. Hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds.
Cummins, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders, on Monday said he would donate $50,000 to the country’s coronavirus relief fund to help purchase oxygen supplies for hospitals.
“To know so many are suffering so much at this time saddens me greatly,” Cummins said in a statement on Twitter.
“I encourage my fellow IPL players — and anyone else round the world who has been touched by India’s passion and generosity to contribute…”
Australia said last week it would cut flights from India and reduce the number of its citizens able to return from other red-zone countries to contain the risk of more virulent strains of Covid-19 spreading.
Australia has largely eliminated Covid-19 by closing its borders and installing snap lockdowns when cases of community transmission occur.
Governing body Cricket Australia and the Australian players union said they were in “regular contact” with Australian players, coaches, and commentators at the IPL.
“We will continue to listen to feedback from those on the ground in India and the advice of the Australian government,” the bodies said in a joint statement.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has also pulled out of the IPL to support his family.
Organisers have said they will push on with the tournament amid growing criticism. An IPL governing council member told Reuters on Sunday the league provided a “much-needed distraction from all the doom and gloom”.
