‘It's safer for me to stay in the bubble than try and get home’ – Nathan Coulter-Nile after Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa pull out from IPL 2021

Nathan Coulter-Nile, the Australian fast bowler, stated that staying in the bio-security bubble of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is easier for him than going back to Australia. Coulter-Nile is yet to play a game for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing edition of the T20 tournament. The Mumbai-based team has, thus far, preferred Trent Boult, Adam Milne and Jasprit Bumrah in the pace department.

Coulter-Nile’s comments came after Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye, among other Australian cricketers, pulled out from the tournament. Though he was surprised by the move from his national teammates, he respected their calls keeping in mind the COVID-19 second wave in India.

Nathan Coulter-Nile opines

“Everyone’s got their own opinions on it and different situations for them. I was surprised to see AJ go home, and then Zamps and Richo, but when you speak to them, you definitely understand where they’re coming from,” Coulter-Nile was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

“I spoke to Zamps a little while ago and he made a very compelling argument for going home. But for me, I feel like it’s safer for me to stay in the bubble than try and get home at the moment,” he stated.

“I feel like something’s got to give for getting home. I’m just going to wait and see how that plays out. Worst comes to worst, we’ll have to quarantine in Dubai for a couple of weeks before we can fly home. But I’m sure it will get sorted,” Coulter-Nile added.

Even as Richardson and Zampa were part of the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Tye was a part of the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR). It’s also pertinent to note that the Royals have lost, England’s Liam Livingstone and Ben Stokes as well due to various reasons.

In India, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t showing signs of slowing down. Nearly three lakh fresh cases have been recorded on a daily basis. The number of infected cases and death tolls are also increasing at an alarming rate. The healthcare workers are trying their hearts out to get the situation under control.

As far as the IPL is concerned, after matches in Chennai and Mumbai, the tournament has now moved to Ahmedabad and New Delhi.