Returned Aussie cricket stars expose loophole in India border closure

Scott Morrison’s attempt to slam the door on Australians fleeing India has been exposed by two cricket stars and a staggering loophole.

Adam Zampa is back home.

Aussie cricket stars Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson have landed safe back in Australia after fleeing COVID-19-ravaged India despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison shutting the border to the country on Tuesday.

The two cricketers, who had been playing in India’s rich Indian Premier League, have exposed a staggering loophole in the system that has allowed them to side-step the border protection measures.

Flights to and from India into Australia were suspended this week amid increasing concerns over the nation’s escalating COVID-19 situation.

“We recognise that this has been a very significant outbreak in India,” the Prime Minister told reporters, off the back of a national security committee meeting on Tuesday.

“Today we agreed, in addition to the measures that I announced after the last National Cabinet meeting, to pause direct passenger flights between India and Australia until the 15th of May.”

Cricketer Adam Zampa with his fiancee Harriet Palmer. Picture: Supplied.

Adam Zampa exposed a potential flaw of the India border shutdown.

On Thursday, India recorded 380,000 cases – the worst single-day increase in any country since the pandemic began – as mass cremation sites were established in response to a mounting death toll.

There were fears for Richardson and Zampa after it was revealed Tuesday night the pair failed to beat the Australian border closure to India. Both players surrendered rich six-figure contracts to pull-out of the IPL biosecurity bubble in a desperate attempt to dash home at the last second.

They were left stranded in Mumbai and were uncertain as to whether they would be able to get home via a third destination.

But despite this, the pair landed in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon, having used a loophole to return home via a connecting flight through Doha.

Morrison clarified in Tuesday’s announcement that the Government was advised gateway destinations, including Doha, Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, had also suspended all travel to and from India, making the India lockdown near watertight.

“So that third country entry point into Australia has already been closed by those key embarkation points to Australia,” he said.

Adam Zampa playing against India.

“That will obviously have impacts, in a positive way, in terms of restricting the inflow and in fact in most cases eliminating it.”

Zampa and Richardson have now started their 14-days in hotel quarantine.

Their controversial arrival was confirmed by a report by abc.net.au which revealed Qatar Airways is still able to transport Australian people home from India via Doha.

“You can still travel outbound from India through Doha and on to Australia with the right documentation,” a spokesperson for Qatar Airways said in the report.

“PCR test 48 hours prior to flight is now mandatory for any [passengers] to transit/arrive in Doha.”

Fellow Aussie cricketer Andrew Tye earlier this week got in before Morrison’s announcement, returning home to Australia and begin his two weeks in quarantine in Sydney.

There are still 12 Aussies including David Warner, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins, as well as a handful of coaches such as Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich, still in India.

Morrison said on Tuesday Aussie cricketers would not receive any preferential treatment when the suspension of direct flights from India is reviewed after May 15.

It came after Aussie batting star Chris Lynn called for Cricket Australia to facilitate a charter flight out of the country for all the Australians involved with the cricket tournament, which does not conclude until the end of May.