Jordan says suspending IPL ‘the right call’ as he awaits return to England

Chris Jordan will be one of the last England players to return home from the Indian Premier League, but the paceman does not regret his decision to take part in a tournament he hopes offered some relief to a population in the grip of a coronavirus crisis.

While eight of the 11-strong English contingent flew back into Heathrow on Wednesday morning, ready to begin a 10dayquarantineingovernmentapproved hotels, Jordan is still awaiting his own departure fromAhmedabadwithPunjab Kingsteam-mateDawidMalan and Eoin Morgan.

All three are expected to be on their way within 48 hours and, while Jordan accepts suspending the tournament was inevitableassoonasthreefranchises reported positive cases inside their camps, he insists he has felt secure throughout his stay in India.

“These are tricky times. You see the news and you hear things that are happening and it’s a real shame to see what the people in India are going through,” he said.

“You monitor the situation on a daily basis and everyone hasdoneeverythingpossibleto keep the bubbles secure.

“IwouldsayI’vefeltsafethe whole time here. They have so many things put in place and precautions being taken. The next step now is getting out safely and I’m sure they’ll see tothataswell,butitmighttake another day or two.

“Obviously the last couple of days, some new cases came to the fore, a couple of bubbles were breached, and that kind ofthingstartstodominateconversations. It was always going to be difficult to continue and I think in the end the right call was made so people can get home to be with their families and look after loved ones.”

There has already been plenty of debate over whether the IPL should have continued as long as it did against the backdrop of a dire public health emergency but Jordan believes the organisers were right to suggest a nightly offering of sporting entertainment mighthaveofferedsomefansa welcome diversion.

“I would agree with that. Once you come to India and spend a bit of time getting to knowthepeopleandtheplace, yourealisehowbigcricketisin the culture,” he said.

“It means a lot to people overheretowatchtheirfavourite players and their teams on TV each night.

“Knowing there were so many people out there watchingandhopingyoucouldbring a smile to their faces, that almost spurred you on to go that extra mile and put on a show.”