BCCI 'committed' to arrange safe ways for Australians to go back home: Cricket Australia chief

Staying true to the promises made on making sure all players will reach their homes safely, the BCCI is making moves to send all of the Australian players and support staffs involved in the IPL 2021 to either Sri Lanka or the Maldives before they can be eligible for getting entry into Australia for which a chartered flight will be arranged later.

There were reports that players and former players who wished to return to their homes in Australia will be staying in quarantine in the Maldives to make themselves eligible for entry into their own country.

Now, Cricket Australia's interim chief executive Nick Hockley has confirmed that the BCCI is ‘committed’ to ensure all the players and support staffs reach their respective homes.

"What the BCCI is working to do is to move the entire cohort out of India where they will wait until it's possible to return to Australia. The BCCI has been working on a range of options. That's now narrowed down to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The BCCI is committed not only to the first move but also to putting on a charter to bring them back to Australia,” Hockley said to reporters.

After the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League was ‘indefinitely suspended,’ there were uncertainties on the plans for the Australian players and former players who were part of different teams as the Australian government has mandated return from India as a punishable offence.

Discover more

PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia eyeing September window for IPL 2021 comeback

There are concerns surrounding the future of the Indian Premier League after its 14th edition was suspended due to the rising number of cases in franchises. However, some franchise owners are not worried bout the future and backing the league to emerge stronger out of the latest crisis due to Covid-19. A co-owner of the revamped Punjab Kings, Ness Wadia has said that the league that started in 2008 is the most ‘flexible, adaptable and adjustable’ and it can sustain any sort of circumstances. "This is the No 1 tournament in the world. Not just in terms of value, but also for its adaptability. It is the league that is the most flexible, adaptable and adjustable. Whether the move to South Africa in 2009, to UAE in 2014 and 2020, and whether it being held in India the in most gruelling of Covid situations and circumstances, it always emerged strong. There won't be any impact on the league in future. The decision to suspend is right and I am sure they will hold it again," Wadia told Cricbuzz. Although Wadia backed the BCCI’s move of suspending the tournament in wake of the rising number of cases in the bio bubbles of various franchises and also in the outside world in India, he seems confident the 14th edition will resume sometime later this year. "It is very unfortunate but it is a decision that is correct under the current circumstances. I would say given the drastic increase in cases in the last two-three weeks, it has brought in a new dimension to the planning that was done at the beginning," Wadia added. He echoed optimism in line with the thoughts of IPL chairman Brijesh Patel who earlier today said that the BCCI is looking to find a window either before or after the ICC World T20 scheduled to be played later this year. “I think it ( IPL) will definitely come back, sooner than later. If you look at the cricketing window - September before the T20 World Cup. That could happen,” Wadia told Sportstar. Meanwhile, many overseas players who were part of various IPL franchises have left India and some of them have also reached their home countries.

IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel confirms; BCCI seeking window around ICC World T20 to complete IPL 2021

Amid increasing uncertainty over the fate of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League that was cut short due to rising number of Covid-19 cases across multiple franchises, IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel has said that the tournament will be resumed from where it was left and during a window period before or after the ICC World T20 scheduled for later this year. “The remaining 31 matches will be completed whenever we can. So, matches will resume from where we left this year. We have to look at a window, before the ICC T20 World Cup or after the World Cup (October-November 2021),” Brijesh Patel said in an interview with News 18. He also added that the BCCI and IPL governing council first thought of rescheduling some matches of the sides that were affected by the Covid-19 cases in their camps. However, he added that once it spread across to as many as four franchises, the option of rescheduling matches became untenable and the BCCI had to take a tough call on suspending the league. Reportedly, the BCCI is set to lose approximately Rs 2,000 crore after a suspended edition of the IPL and hence it is likely that the board will be willing to find a window to complete its cash cow.

IPL 2021 | Michael Hussey tests Covid-19 positive, to face uncertainty over going back home

A day after the bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji tested positive for the novel coronavirus, batting coach Mike Hussey has also tested positive. The development came in the backdrop of the IPL governing council suspending this year’s edition for an indefinite period. "Hussey was tested and his sample came positive. We sent it for retesting but that has also come positive," PTI quoted an unnamed IPL source. Hussey testing positive for Covid-19 will most likely complicate his return to Australia where the federal government has imposed restrictions on people including players coming from India that is hit severely by the Covid-19 pandemic. Other players, support staffs and commentators are reportedly looking to spend their time in the Maldives in order to be eligible for getting entry to their homeland. But, Mike Hussey might well have to go through a tougher route. The 14th edition of the IPL was on its way till the halfway stage before cores of Covid-19 cases struck teams. First, cases were reported from the Kolkata Knight Riders camp then the Chennai Super Kings along with the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Capitals. Initially, the BCCI and the IPL governing council started with rescheduling the matches one after another before finally giving up on this season and avised all stakeholders to go back to their homes and spend time with their families.

Fomer Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill kidnapped by former partner's brother last month

Former Australia Test cricketer Stuart MacGill was kidnapped from his home in Syndey on April 14 and was threatened and beat in some other part of the city, as per various media reports in Australia citing the federal police. According to a report in The Age, one of his abductors was the brother of his recent partner Maria O’Meagher. The person is named Marino Sotiropoulos, who is the owner of Aristotle’s restaurant in Neutral Bay, where the former leg-spin bowler works as a general manager. The other three men have been identified as Son Minh Nguyen, and brothers Frederick and Richard Schaaf. Sotiropoulos was accused of being a member of a criminal gang and of supplying a significant commercial quantity of a controlled substance. Another report in The Australian claimed that Sotiropoulos saw the kidnapping of McGill as a potential chance to end his debt but Detective Acting Superintendent Anthony Holton has said that the 44-year-old MacGill did not owe any money to the charged group, including Sotiropoulos. MacGill made his debut in 1998 and shone to prominence after bowling magnificently on the tour of West Indies in 1999. He could play only 44 Tests and only one one day internationals for Australia.