Michael Hussey and Australia contingent in Maldives set to fly home
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 suspended midway due to the COVID-19 crisis, all overseas players, commentators, coaches and staff members headed back home. However, the Australian contingent had to fly to the Maldives due to the travel ban imposed by the Australian government. One Aussie who wasn’t able to catch the flight to the Maldives was Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Michael Hussey. The former cricketer stayed back in India following a series of positive COVID-19 tests.
However, Hussey returned a negative test on Thursday and has been cleared to reach Australian soil on a commercial flight via Doha. He’ll reportedly reach home on Monday, about the same time as the Australian contingent present in the Maldives. On a BCCI charter flight, the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Michael Slater will land in Sydney to serve their mandatory quarantine period.
Will see our best Australian cricketers as almost superheroes: ACA chief executive
“The public will see our best Australian cricketers as almost superheroes. They’re brilliant athletes, great cricketers, but they’re human beings,” Todd Greenberg, the ACA chief executive was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “Some of them are fathers and husbands, and they’re under enormous amounts of stress. Some deal with it differently. This will probably be an experience they will never forget. We will help them when they come home. Some will cope with it really well, others will need support and counselling and that’s what we’ll do,” he added.
For the unversed, the Scott Morrison-led Australian government had banned citizens from India until May 15 due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the country. Hence, BCCI had to send the Australian contingent to the Maldives for the required period. Although Hussey stayed back in India after contracting the virus, he can now directly travel to Australia with the national government lifting the ban.
Meanwhile, the Australia cricket team will next travel to the Caribbean Islands for five T20Is and three ODIs against West Indies. With the limited-overs series starting from July 9, the Aaron Finch-led side has enough time for preparation. Moreover, the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is slated to take place later this year, and Australia would want to identify their best playing XI.
