KKR mentor David Hussey also lauded bio-bubble placed in for IPL 2021.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor David Hussey said Australians featuring in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) are a “bit nervous” about getting back home owing to the current Coronavirus situation and the latest surge of COVID-19 cases in India.
Hussey, a former Australian cricketer, said everyone is nervous about whether they can get back into Australia due to the ongoing devastating second wave of COVID-19 across India.
His comments came after Rajasthan Royals pacer Andrew Tye decided to leave IPL 2021 midway as he feared getting “locked out” of his own country following his fellow Australian bowlers Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson (both plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore) withdrew from the remainder of the ongoing T20 league citing personal reasons.
Pat Cummins is also part of the KKR squad in the IPL 14.
Read Also: IPL 2021: RCB’s Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson pull out of IPL due to personal reasons
Hussey told Sydney Morning Herald: “Everyone is sort of a bit nervous about whether they can get back into Australia. I dare say there will be a few other Australians a bit nervous about getting back into Australia.”
He further hailed the strict bio-bubble in place for the ongoing IPL 2021 but said it is natural for the players to be nervous about the current COVID-19 situation in India.
The KKR mentor further added, “We're stuck in bubbles. It's probably not too dissimilar to what all Victorians experienced last year in lockdown really. You get tested every second day. So it's quite full-on but I think every precaution has been taken for everyone's safety.
It is on the radar. It's on the news every minute of the day. You see people in hospital beds. It puts a lot of things in perspective. We actually discussed after the game last night, how lucky we are to play the game and try to entertain people around the world.”
However, Hussey has insisted that all the players are pragmatic and want the IPL 14 to go on. He added, “Everyone's pretty nervous about what's going on over here, but they're also pragmatic. A couple of players, their fathers have passed away.”
He signed off by saying, “One person, in particular, he's one of the staff members with us and his father passed away last year from COVID, and he was really pragmatic by saying it was his time to go. From a Kolkata point of view, we're desperate for the tournament to keep going, purely because everyone's in lockdown, there's not much else to do.”
(With PTI Inputs)