The federal government has suspended all passenger flights from India to Australia until May 15, tarnishing the return of Australia’s top cricketers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Tuesday that direct trade and return flights from India have been suspended due to growing COVID-19 cases in hotel quarantine, while indirect flights would also not be possible.
The federal government will review measures closer to May 15 to help some 8,000 Australians return from India, where the army has been called in to help overstretched hospitals amid a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections.
The Indian Premier League is expected to end on May 31, while the regular season ends on May 24. Hence, an extension of the Cricket Australia travel ban would be a significant headache.
The Prime Minister made it clear that the Australians involved in the IPL – a list headed by Pat Cummins, David Warner and Steve Smith – would not be queued for return flights if they were resumed.
“It’s being done because of vulnerability,” Morrison told reporters.
“You went there privately in these conditions, this was not part of an Australian tour.
“You are on your own and will use these resources to see you return to Australia safely.”
Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye recently dropped out of their IPL stays and wanted to return to Australia while they could still do so via a commercial flight.
Cricket Australia (CA) has been in regular dialogue with its players who take part in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament during their annual vacation.
CA could still arrange a charter flight for its IPL contingent, but this would require federal and state approval.
There are also tons of complicating factors to navigating CA even before the clout of the Indian cricket board is considered.
It is believed that opinions are mixed among Australian players, coaches, referees and broadcast staff involved in the IPL.
Some are content to move on and finish the tournament because they believe the IPL’s biosecurity bubble is acting as a shield from an escalating health crisis.
Others were already planning to travel elsewhere after the T20 event.
Players and officials are regularly tested for COVID-19 as part of IPL protocols.
Warner posted a photo of him and Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Kane Williamson, both wearing hazmat suits, on a flight to Delhi.
Western Australia Prime Minister Mark McGowan says it is “annoying” that Australians, including IPL players, have traveled to India amid the country’s COVID-19 cases.
“We are in the middle of a global pandemic. India is the epicenter of death and destruction as we speak. And I don’t think there is a need to go,” McGowan told reporters.
