Cricket Australia in a bind after saying no to special flight for IPL players

SYDNEY: Cricket Australia (CA) is not thinking of bringing its players featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) back home on a chartered flight at the moment although this could change after the IPL bio-bubble was hit by Covid-19 cases on Monday.

Both CA and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said that they are in touch with their players with the ECB adding that the decision to continue playing IPL rests with the players.

"There's no suggestion at the moment of any charter flight," Nick Hockley, the interim chief executive officer of Cricket Australia, was quoted as saying on SEN Radio on Monday.

"We're working closely and talking closely with the ACA (Australian Cricketers' Association), with the players and with the BCCI to make sure everyone's okay and the people have got full information," he added.

Hockley confirmed that the players were in good spirits although his view came before two players of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tested positive leading to the postponement of Monday night's match between Kolkata Bengaluru franchises.

"We've been in touch with the players there and they are generally in good spirits," he added.

"The work the BCCI has done around the [bio-] bubble means they are feeling safe and secure, and those we've talked to are generally planning to complete their playing commitments."

These views may be revisited after the spinner Varun Chakravarthy and fast bowler Sandeep Warrier tested positive in the KKR camp and were isolated following Hockley's comments. Aussie pace bowler Pat Cummins is part of KKR while CSK, the other franchise affected, features another Aussie pacer Jason Behrendorff.

Hockley was reacting to Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Chris Lynn's demands. Lynn had earlier asked CA to arrange for a flight to bring IPL players back home since the cricket board takes 10% of a player's contract.

"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 had told News Corp media. IANS

Also Read: Mark Taylor calls Lynn's demand for a chartered flight 'very rich'

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