Michael Hussey To Return Home After Testing Negative; Australians In Maldives To Fly Back Using A Charter Flight

Michael Hussey, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach, returned a negative Covid-19 test on Thursday night and is set to reach home by Monday.

The former Australia batsman was the third member of the CSK contingent, after bowling coach L Balaji and a member of the service staff, to have tested positive for the virus as the IPL 2021 was suspended earlier in the month.

After the pause of the tournament, barring Hussey all other Australians involved in the IPL 2021 were transported to the Maldives as the Australian government had banned all incoming flights from India.

About 38 Australian players, coaches, commentators, and other media personnel were sent to the Maldives while Michael Hussey was in isolation in India.

Michael Hussey will take a commercial flight via Doha to return back home; the Maldives staying contingent, which includes the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith and Michael Slater, will be sent back on a BCCI charter flight. The flight has a stopover in Perth before flying to Sydney, where they will have to undergo a hotel quarantine.

After the Australian government lifted its ban of incoming people from India, the return of the Australians involved in the IPL was planned. It is also reported that there were negotiations between Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricketers Association, and state and federal governments.

While these people will soon reach back home without any hassles, the Australian government has a bigger task in front of themselves to bring back about 9000 of their countrymen stranded in India. They will initiate a series of repatriation flights for those over the weekend.

Do your homework before making any decisions: ACA chief Todd Greenberg

Earlier Todd Greenberg, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, had said that the players need to “do your homework” before they sign up for the T20 leagues amid the covid-19 concerns.

While Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, and Josh Philippe withdrew from the competition before it started, and Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa left India before the border was closed, most of the others decided to stay.

“I’m not sure it will create reticence [in the future] but it will ensure players do their due diligence before they sign agreements. The world is literally changing before our eyes particularly with Covid and on that side of the world, obviously, those cases are going up exponentially,” Greenberg said.

“We’re enjoying our freedoms here in Australia. It is a very different place over there. If anything it sends a message to players about making sure you do your homework before making any decisions,” he added.

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