‘They are quite clearly shaken by the experience’ – CA CEO opines on Australians' participation in IPL 2021

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season will take place in UAE. However, dark clouds are looming over the participation of foreign players when the tournament resumes. While the centrally-contracted England players are sure to miss the remaining matches, several Australian players won’t be keen to feature in the lucrative league due to their experience in the past few weeks.

After the season got suspended on May 4, the Australian contingent had to fly to the Maldives owing to the travel ban imposed by the Australian government. The players eventually landed in Australia on May 17 but underwent another quarantine period. The long wait was finally over on Monday, May 31, as the cricketers reunited with their family members.

After such a dreadful experience, many Aussie stars, including Steve Smith, David Warner, and Glenn Maxwell, would be skeptical about participating in the remaining tournament. Speaking of the same, Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Nick Hockley opined that the players are jolted by the experience and should take a breather now.

Our first priority is to make sure Australian players are reunited with their families: Nick Hockley

“Once we get back together as a group, then the IPL is something we’ll obviously need to discuss. Our players returning from the IPL have only today come out of quarantine, so our first priority is to make sure they are reunited with their families, we then have a tour to prepare for in the West Indies,” Hockley was quoted as per saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“They are quite clearly shaken by the experience and are very appreciative to be back home, very much looking forward to being reunited with family and friends today. It’s a couple of weeks before the West Indies touring party then regroups at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and then that’s the time to refocus,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Australian cricket team will next tour West Indies for five T20Is and three ODI matches, starting from July 9. It would be an excellent chance for the Men in Yellow to try different combinations and identify their best squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, which is slated to take place later this year in India.