I was 10 minutes away from leaving the bubble, so I’m very lucky: Paul Reiffel

India is currently fighting a battle against the second wave of the coronavirus. Seeing the terrifying situation in the country, former Australian cricketer Paul Reiffel, who is officiating in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), decided to pull out his name from the league. However, it is now learned that the veteran has decided to continue the job of umpiring in the tournament and is present in the IPL bio bubble.

Detailing his opinion on what forced him to change his decision, Reiffel revealed that he was all set to fly back to Australia but just ten minutes before he could leave the bio bubble, he was informed that his booking has been canceled. Australia has canceled all the flights from India and thus Paul is now stuck in the country.

However, the Australian legend can’t help but be thankful for not leaving the IPL bio bubble as then he would have been forced to undergo the quarantine again to join the IPL bubble.

“I tried to, but the flight through Doha, I wasn’t able to go through as an Australian. They shut the avenue off . I know a couple of the guys got back that way through there, but the avenue was closed so I had to stay. Yesterday I was booked to go, but it got canceled. I thought I’d take the opportunity when I could because you don’t know what’s going to happen later on. I was 10 minutes away from leaving the bubble, so I’m very lucky,” Reiffel told the Herald and The Age on Thursday from his hotel in Ahmedabad.

It’s how I make a living: Paul Reiffel

Further in the interaction, Paul revealed the hardships he faced due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Australian veteran reckoned that due to Covid-19 he hasn’t received many opportunities for umpiring and it has created problems for him as this is what he does to make a living.

“It’s how I make a living. In these COVID times I haven’t umpired a lot so any opportunity to get some work, you take it. You know any travel can end up any which way. It’s how I make a living. To knock back work, you just can’t afford to. You have to look at everything and try and weigh it up. When I accepted and it all started, it was a very different landscape,” Paul Reiffel concluded.