Cricket chaos to Xmas and beyond

A rescheduled IPL could see players leave next month and emerge from quarantine in November as the first Test begins.

Steve Smith arrives back in Australia from The Maldives after the IPL was shut down. Picture: Matrix Media Group

Details have emerged of the Australian cricketers’ frantic exit from the Indian Premier League with the tournament now rescheduled for later this year — a decision which further exacerbates cricket’s bottleneck.

The wealthiest domestic tournament in the game looks set to recommence in the third week of September and conclude in early October, finishing in time for the T20 World Cup.

It is expected India will move both the remaining matches of the IPL and the T20 World Cup to the UAE because of the pandemic situation at home.

Australian players, some of whom are still in quarantine in Sydney following the postponement of the IPL, could see themselves fly out again in late June and not get home until November 16, should the side make the World Cup final.

If the plans go ahead players such as Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and David Warner — all three of whom are in quarantine in Sydney following the IPL’s postponement — could spend over four months on the road in various biosecurity bubbles, then two weeks in quarantine and only emerge on the day the first Test against Afghanistan begins in Hobart in November.

They then launch into an Ashes summer which runs into tours of Pakistan, another IPL, Sri Lanka and India.

The Australian white ball players are due to leave Australia next month for a six-match series in the West Indies which would conclude on July 21.

Bangladesh and Australia have then agreed to play another five match T20 series in August. That series is yet to be confirmed but if it happens all matches will be played in Dhaka over a nine day period.

The first match of the World Cup was scheduled for October 18, but Australia’s first match which is against Pakistan is down for October 24.

Those playing the IPL would not be able to return home in that period between Bangladesh and the World Cup.

Bubble fatigue has taken its toll on players from all countries and the IPL’s postponement has amplified the problem.

Cummins’ and Aaron Finch’s wives are due to give birth in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

Cummins and David Warner, who has three children he has not seen for months, however, are unlikely to take part in the West Indies tour.

Warner was also axed as captain and dropped from the playing XI by his Hyderabad franchise in the IPL before the tournament’s postponement. It would be unusual for him to return for the completion of the competition if he is not going to play.

To further complicate matters a number of Australians are signed to play in at least part of the new Hundred competition in England from July 22 to August 21.

Channel 7 and IPL commentator Lisa Sthalekar spoke to the Cricket Et Cetera podcast this week about the circumstances of the Australians’ exit from the IPL.

The 38 citizens were locked out of their own country because of border closures and had to find somewhere which would accept travellers from India while they waited for permission to return.

At one point there was a discussion in some franchises about sending the Australians to Kabul in Afghanistan.

Sthalekar told Cricket Et Cetera that the Australians had remained calm when they first heard of the border closure as the tournament was continuing and there was no rush to leave, but once the IPL faltered and people such as Michael Hussey tested positive “the panic happened”.

“As soon as it was postponed it was all about how do we get out, how do we get out quickly because a lot of those bio bubbles had been breached and a number of players felt quite insecure and concerned about contracting Covid,” Sthalekar told the cricket podcast.

“We got to Bangalore airport and everyone was in full PPE kits, gloves and face shields and everything like that.

“It was nice to see 40 odd Australians all getting together, we hadn’t really seen each other, the players would have mingled when they played against each other but as commentators we never got a chance to really catch up with any of the players.

“Everyone was happy to see each other, there were some people you could tell were overwhelmed by everything, it had been an anxious few days and they were the quiet players among the group, you got a sense once we were on that charter flight a lot of them were relieved and as soon as we landed.

“You can understand the Australian government wants to look after Australian citizens here and we’ve done very well to keep Covid out really compared to numbers around the world Australia and NZ were light years ahead of everyone.”