IPL 2021 Suspended: Sourav Ganguly Provides Updated Itinerary Of The Australian Contingent; Speaks About The Bio-bubble Breach

Sourav Ganguly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President, had confirmed that the Australian contingent in the IPL 2021 will stay in the Maldives till they are safely flown to their homes.

While Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, and Kane Richardson had left the IPL earlier, there were about 40 Aussies, including players, coaches, commentators, and officials, remaining in the tournament till it came to a halt due to multiple cases of covid-19 across four franchises.

They have been shifted to the Maldives for about 9-10 days as the Australian government had banned all incoming flights and passengers from India till May 15. Sourav Ganguly said the Australian group will stay at the islands and then will fly to their country, where they would again be required to serve a quarantine period.

“They will all be fine. They are all looked after and they will all reach home. The Australians will reach the Maldives tomorrow, finish their quarantine and then reach Australia safely. So I don’t see any issue,” Sourav Ganguly told The Indian Express in an interview.

The report we got is that there’s no breach of the bubble: Sourav Ganguly

The former India captain wasn’t certain as to where or at which point was the bubble breached which led to the virus spreading. With India recording over 350,000 cases for the last week, Sourav Ganguly said the virus could have entered the bubble environment from anywhere.

“I don’t think so (on the question over bubble being breached). The report we got is that there’s no breach of the bubble. How it happened is very difficult to say. How so many people are getting (infected) in the country is also very difficult to say,” said the BCCI chief.

Another question that was raised was why the board didn’t reappoint the same UK-based company Restrata, which did the job of biosecurity in the UAE last year for IPL 2020, this time as well.

“We discussed their name, but they don’t have a big presence in India, that was the problem. So we went with others,” the BCCI President responded.

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