The request for a chartered flight to bring back the Australian Cricketer after the IPL in India is under consideration according to the country's players union. The sports minister Richard Colbeck however made it clear that such a move has not been cleared by the government yet.
Australian Cricketer's Association (ACA) chief Todd Greenberg as mentioned by TOI, said Cricket Australia will talk to the IPL franchise owners on this arrangement but admitted that it will not be a simple thing.
"That's one of the conversations we're having with Cricket Australia at the moment about whether or not that's available to us," Greenberg said on 2GB radio as quoted by 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
"We can also work with all the owners of the Premier League franchises who are effectively contracting the players. There's certainly a conversation to be had about that," he added.
"They're not simple things to organize, as you'd imagine. If we can try to find a seamless approach to get them home safely that's something between us and CA and our players that we'll work on."
The BCCI has already reassured the IPL's foreign participants that their safe return home will be its responsibility once the tournament ends on May 30. India has recorded an increase in COVID-19 cases and the nation's health infrastructure is under a lot of pressure.
"Be rest assured that the tournament is not over for BCCI till each one of you has reached your home, safe and sound," the Indian Board's COO Hemang Amin addressed the players in a letter sent on Tuesday.
Any such chartered flight would need the permission of the Australian government and Colbeck said no decision has been taken on this matter as yet. "There aren't any decisions that have been made yet concerning (approval for a charter flight for) the cricketers," Colbeck told ABC radio. "One of the reasons for the pause was to give our hotel quarantine a little bit of space because of the load we've seen out of India," he said. The Australian government suspended air travel with India on Tuesday besides asking players to make their "own arrangements" for return. Even before that announcement, players like Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa took an early flight back to Australia. Mumbai Indians' Australian batsman Chris Lynn hopes Cricket Australia would arrange a chartered flight for those who have stayed back. IPL right now has 14 Australian players, including big names like Steve Smith (Delhi Capitals), David Warner (SunRisers Hyderabad) and Cummins. Ricky Ponting (DC) and Simon Katich (Royal Challengers Bangalore) are high-profile Australian coaches, while Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee and Lisa Sthalekar are part of the tournament's commentary team.
The ACA chief, however, made clear that players will be given no preferential treatment if and when the Australian government evacuates its citizens from India. About 9000 Australians are in India trying to return home.
"One thing I can tell you is our players are under no expectations to look for specific favours," Greenberg said.
"There are no free rides or any expectations from our players. What they are looking for is the right information so they can plan accordingly. Greenberg said the majority of players feel "really comfortable" in the tournament's bio-security bubble and intend to finish their commitment. However, they remain understandably uneasy about what will happen beyond the final.
"They're all pretty anxious. They're in one of the biggest hotspots we've seen since COVID. They're very anxious about getting home at the end. "But also anxious about what a beautiful place India has been ... and they're seeing such devastation."