Cricket Australia Chief Nick Hockley
Cricket Australia Chief Nick Hockley (Image Credit: Twitter)

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley has said that there are no plans at the moment for arranging any charter flight to bring Australian cricketers back after IPL 2021. The Australian government has banned Indian flights till May 15 due to the surging Covid-19 crisis in India. As a result, many Australian players fears returning home after IPL 2021 is over.

Some Australian players like Andrew Tye, Kane Richarson, and Adam Zampa left IPL 2021 midway and returned to Australia earlier. England player Liam Livingstone is another player who left the IPL 2021 midway and returned back to his home country.

However, many Australian players are still part of IPL 2021. For instance, David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, and Moises Henriques are some other Australian players who are still part of IPL 2021.

Chris Lynn
Chris Lynn (Image Credit: Twitter)

No Plans For Charter Flight At The Moment: Nick Hockley

While speaking to Melbourne radio station SEN, Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley said that there are no plans at the moment for a charter flight to bring back Australian players after IPL 2021. Earlier, Chris Lynn had urged Cricket Australia to arrange a charter flight for Australian cricketers to return back to Australia after IPL 2021.

“There’s no suggestion at the moment of any charter flight. We’re working closely and talking closely with the ACA (Australian Cricketers’ Association), with the players and with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to make sure everyone’s okay and the people have got full information,” Hockley said.

Hockley also informed that Cricket Australia is in constant touch with players who have informed that they are facing under bubble planning to complete their IPL 2021 commitments.

“We’ve been in touch with the players there and they are generally in good spirits. The work the BCCI has done around the (bio-secure) bubble means they are feeling safe and secure, and those we’ve talked to are generally planning to complete their playing commitments.

The BCCI have come out and said they understand and want to support the players in making sure they get home safely at the end.”, Hockley further said.

MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni (Image Credit: Twitter)

The second wave of Covid-19 has created a health crisis in India. About 3-4 lakh Covid-19 cases are arriving on a daily basis. The active cases have crossed 32 lakh in the country. Hospitals are also facing issues like shortage of beds and oxygen supply for Covid-19 patients. About 2 to 3 thousand people are losing their lives daily due to Covid-19, according to government data.

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Vikas Singh Derek has been working for Cricketaddictor since February 2021. He has written over 12,000 articles for Cricketaddictor. He is a sports writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience...