Amid the unprecedented health crisis caused by second COVID-19 wave in India, Mumbai Indians (MI) batsman Chris Lynn has urged Cricket Australia to arrange a chartered flight to take its players home after the 2021 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) gets over.
Three Australian players namely Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa have already opted out of the cash-rich tournament.
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Competing for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Tye left the tournament midway as he feared getting "locked out" of his own country while Zampa and Richardson, who were part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise, decided to pull out of the competition due to personal reasons.
On Monday (April 26), Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association had issued a joint statement, saying that they are monitoring the situation.
“I texted back that as Cricket Australia make 10 per cent of every IPL contract was there a chance we could spend that money this year on a charter flight once the tournament is over?” Lynn told News Corp media.
Lynn also revealed that his franchise will get all members of the team vaccinated next week.
“I know there are people worse off than us. But we are going from a really tight bubble and are getting vaccinated next week so hopefully the government will let us get home on a private charter.
“We are not asking for shortcuts and we signed up knowing the risks. But it would be great to get home as soon as the event is over.”
India’s vaccination drive for all above 18 will begin from May 1 and the Reliance group, which owns Mumbai Indians, has already announced that it will arrange vaccination of all its staff members and their dependent family members.
As many as 14 Australian players still remain part of the ongoing IPL, including Steve Smith (Delhi Capitals), David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Pat Cummins (Kolkata Knight Riders).
India is reporting over 3 lakh COVID-19 cases for the past few days and the health infrastructure is struggling to cope with the crisis.
“Obviously India is in chaos at the moment. But we are at least giving people something to smile about by playing the tournament,” Lynn said.
The IPL final is scheduled to be held on May 30 in Ahmedabad.
(With PTI inputs)
