Australian cricketers and other supporting staff have finally arrived safely back on home soil from the COVID-19 hit Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) in India after being stranded in the Maldives for nearly two weeks due to the travel ban in the country.
The Australian contingent of 38 members was stranded in the Maldives, as the Australian government had banned the travelers from the COVID-19 hit India after the IPL 14 was postponed on May 4 due to the Coronavirus outbreak inside the IPL bio-bubble earlier this month.
The large contingent was based at an isolated resort in the Maldives since May 6, as they waited for the end of the Australian government’s travel ban following the suspension of the IPL 2021.
Read Also: WI v AUS 2021: Australia announces star-studded squad for white-ball tour of West Indies
The cricketers arrived at the Sydney Airport at 7 AM on a charter flight – an Air Seychelles plane – on Monday from the Maldives and were transported to the hotels for their mandatory two-week quarantine in Sydney through the buses from the airport before reuniting with their families.
The travel ban was lifted from Saturday, May 15, which paved the way for Australia’s IPL 14 bound members to return home. Well, Michael Hussey, who has been recovering in Chennai after contracting COVID-19, is expected to return to Australia via a separate flight.
Recently, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has insisted that the players and officials were not given any special dispensation for returning home from the Coronavirus-stricken India.
Watch Here-
Morrison told reporters on Sunday, “They are happy for them to come in over the cap. That is something we insisted upon and they were to agree with that. They will come back under their own steam, upon their own ticket, and they won't be taking the spot in quarantine of any other Australian who is returning home under the NSW caps.”
Notably, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, and Kane Richardson had returned to Australia from the IPL 2021 before the tournament was postponed earlier this month.
(With AFP/AP Inputs)
