Chinese rocket in Maldives explosion 'Rattles' David Warner, other foreign IPL players

After the IPL 2021 suspension, the Australian players and all the non-playing personnel have flown out from India and are spending their time in the Maldives till the flight restriction in Australia is lifted. During their stay in the Maldives, the Australian members had to face an unprecedented situation due to the possibility of a crashing Chinese rocket in Maldives. China had recently launched the main module of China’s first permanent space station into orbit and the rocket that took the main module was expected to fall into the Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday.

David Warner rattled by the Chinese rocket crash

China's out-of-control rocket, Long March 5B crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives on Sunday where the Australians were staying. David Warner and the other Australian members in the Maldives were rattled by this crash and they were able to hear a bang at around 5:30 in the morning. Speaking to The Australian, David Warner said that all the Australian members in the Maldives heard the bang at around 5:30 AM and they were woken by the boom. He further added that according to the experts, the noise that they heard was the crack in the atmosphere which set off a wave of sound and it was not the actual impact of the rocket.

Crash of Chinese rocket in Maldives?

As per Chinese state media reports, parts of the rocket re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24 a.m. Beijing time (0224 GMT) and landed at a location with the coordinates of longitude 72.47 degrees east and latitude 2.65 degrees north. While several countries were expecting massive debris as Long March 5B blasted off from China's Hainan island on April 29, the China Manned Space Engineering Office said most of the debris was burnt up in the atmosphere. Last year, pieces from the first Long March 5B fell on Ivory Coast, damaging several buildings but no injuries were reported.

Australia India travel ban situation

The Australian government announced on April 27 that it was suspending all travel from India until May 15 in the wake of COVID-19 cases in the hotel quarantine among people arriving from India. Despite the Australia India travel ban situation, Australian cricketers like Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson entered Australia after taking a connecting flight from Doha into Melbourne. The government decided to cut that loophole too after federal health minister Greg Hunt announced that the government would ban people, including permanent residents and Australian citizens, from coming into Australia from India. The foreign players in IPL include the 37 Australian men contingent currently in the Maldives.

Is IPL 2021 cancelled?

Since the IPL suspension on May 6, fans have been wondering about the question, “Is IPL 2021 cancelled?”. The answer to the question is “No”, the IPL 2021 isn’t cancelled entirely but rather postponed indefinitely and is expected to resume back in the month of September. The BCCI had also assured the safe travel of all the foreign players in IPL after the IPL 2021 suspension. The BCCI is planning to host the remaining part of the IPL 2021 in the UAE while also getting offers to host the league in the UK and Sri Lanka.

Image Source: AP