NZC keep eye on travel ban

New Zealand Cricket is closely monitoring the travel ban from India.

The Government announced on Wednesday a temporary ban on travellers from India entering the country due to a surge in Covid-19 cases from the region. The ban begins tomorrow and will remain in place until at least April 28.

Ten Black Caps — Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson — are involved in the Indian Premier League which starts this morning.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said NZ Cricket was responsible for making its own decisions about the safety of Kiwi cricketers in India.

“These decisions around travel into high-risk countries generally will come down to individuals, but also if it’s a workforce, their employers,” she said at Wednesday’s announcement. “So those are judgements they need to make.”

There are concerns that if any of the players suffer injuries, they could be rendered temporarily stateless and would struggle to return home.

NZC public affairs manager Richard Boock said it was too early to speculate.

“We’re monitoring the situation and are in contact with the IPL franchises to keep the lines of communication open, because the tournament’s due to go for some time. We’re prepared to discuss all contingencies.

“If it occurred with one of the test players, it might make more sense for them to continue on to England [for the test tour and World Test Championship final].”