Cricket stars leave IPL as India virus toll grows

India is recording nearly 3,000 coronavirus deaths per day

Australia's Adam Zampa is one of the players to pull out of the lucrative IPL

Two Australian cricketers became the latest stars to pull out of the Indian Premier League on Monday as top bowler Pat Cummins said he was told the competition was being kept going to provide "a few hours of joy and respite" during India's growing coronavirus crisis.

His fellow Australians Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson are returning home for "personal reasons", their Royal Challengers Bangalore team said, joining Rajasthan Royals bowler Andrew Tye who flew back on Sunday.

England batsman Liam Livingstone left the Royals last week just before Britain imposed a travel clampdown on India as its hospitals became overwhelmed and shortages of oxygen and hospital beds grew.

The world's richest cricket league has faced criticism for continuing in empty stadiums during the crisis, with a leading newspaper group accusing it of "commercialism gone crass" as it suspended coverage on Sunday.

IPL organisers were anxious to hold the tournament -- said to generate billions of dollars for the Indian economy -- after last year's event was moved to the United Arab Emirates because of the pandemic risk.

"There has been quite a bit of discussion over here as to whether it is appropriate for the IPL to continue while Covid-19 infection rates remain high," the Kolkata Knight Riders bowler said on Twitter.

Cummins, who is continuing to play in the IPL, urged other "privileged" players to also donate.

The Australian players are said to have left because of fears that they could become stuck as their country clamps down on travel from India.

"Other guys are just happy to make sure I'm OK and make sure I'm in a good space," he told the SEN WA radio station.

"Our thoughts are with the people of India at this difficult time," a statement said.

The Express Publications newspaper group said it had stopped reporting the competition until a "semblance of normalcy is restored".

Senior journalist Sharda Ugra hit out at the IPL in a column for the Hindustan Times, saying the IPL was "bubble-wrapped into tone deafness" oblivious to "the suffering outside its gates".

"Everyone's pretty nervous about what's going on over here," he told Australian media.

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