IPL 2021: Warner happy to be home as Australian players exit quarantine

By ANI

SYDNEY: The Australian contingent — part of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 — was on Monday released from quarantine in Sydney following the completion of 14 days’ isolation.

Forty members of the Australian contingent stranded in the Maldives made their way home on May 17 and were quarantined in the hotel as per the COVID-19 protocols.

The contingent which includes the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, and Michael Slater, had travelled to Australia on a BCCI charter flight.

Former SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper David Warner’s wife posted videos on her Instagram stories as the Australian opener reunited with family.

“It’s great to be home @candywarner1,” Warner wrote in his Instagram story.

Following their arrival in Australia, the then Cricket Australia’s (CA) interim Chief Executive Nick Hockley had confirmed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is funding the Australian IPL cricketers’ quarantine stay in Sydney.

Meanwhile, BCCI on Saturday announced it will complete the remaining matches of the IPL 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, Australia pacer Pat Cummins would not be heading to the UAE to take part in the remaining matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

According to a report in Sydney Morning Herald, Cummins has already made it clear that he would not be taking part in the remaining matches of the IPL, however, there is no reason given behind his decision.

“David Warner and Pat Cummins could be rested from the West Indies tour because of family reasons — others could follow after a draining year in several bubbles — and Cummins, despite a multimillion-dollar IPL contract, has already said he will not return to the T20 tournament this season,” stated the report.

Earlier, Ashley Giles, the managing director of the England men’s team, had said that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is not planning to change the team’s schedule for the completion of the IPL.