—T20 World Cup in doubt

The abrupt suspension left foreign players, including England’s World Cupwinning captain Eoin Morgan and Australia’s Steve Smith and David Warner, with a major headache.

TRAVEL ISSUES

Australia has banned all arrivals from India until May 15 and England has added India to its travel “red” list.

In a letter to the franchises last month, the league assured them they would discuss the foreign players’ travel arrangements with the Indian government.

Cricket Australia declined to comment when asked if it had any plans to try and bring its players home.

Hours before the league was suspended, the Australian Cricketers’ Association said it would talk to the Australian government about the players’ travel plans.

Australian players Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson cut short their IPL stints to return home last week.

Former Australia test batsman Michael Slater, now working as a commentator, strongly criticised the Australian government for its decision to ban citizens in COVID-ravaged India from returning home, saying Prime Minister Scott Morrison has “blood” on his hands.

Morrison dismissed Slater’s criticism as “absurd” on a TV talk show yesterday.

“What we’re doing here is we’ve got a temporary pause in place because we’ve seen a rapid escalation in the infection rate in people who have travelled out of India,” Morrison said on the Nine Network.

The IPL’s suspension also casts doubt on this year’s Twenty20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India in October-November.

The global showpiece tournament could be shifted to the United Arab Emirates if the COVID-19 crisis in India does not ease, a BCCI official said last week.