IPL 2021 suspended: Bairstow, Roy to reach London after hurriedly leaving from Delhi

Considering the increasing COVID-19 cases in IPL 2021's bio-bubble, the BCCI decided to indefinitely suspend the tournament. The 'IPL 2021 suspended' news was confirmed by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla on Tuesday. Notably, on Monday, KKR players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, as well as, CSK team 2021 CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach Lakshimpathy Balaji and a bus cleaner tested positive for COVID-19.

Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy among first England players to leave for home

To make matters worse, Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Wriddhiman Saha and Delhi Capitals spinner Amit Mishra also tested positive for the ungodly virus on Tuesday. The Amit Mishra and Wriddhiman Saha Covid reports prompted the BCCI to take the decision to suspend IPL 2021. With the IPL 2021 suspended, the BCCI's top priority is sending the overseas players home safely.

England's 11 players who were a part of the IPL 2021 have also started arranging their journeys back home. In fact, Sunrisers Hyderabad players Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy were among the first England players to have boarded a flight home from Delhi, which was slated to host SRH's match against defending champions Mumbai Indians. The SRH duo is expected to touch down at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings' English players Sam Curran and Moeen Ali were given special permission to travel to England. The duo was among the Chennai players who were told to isolate for five days in their hotel rooms after their bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji tested positive for the coronavirus. However, both Curran and Ali's road was cleared as they were given permission to travel hours later. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals' trio of Sam Billings, Chris Woakes and Tom Curran were in transit from Ahmedabad to Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon for their international flights.

Jonny Bairstow IPL 2021

The Jonny Bairstow IPL 2021 campaign got off to a scintillating start. The Englishman scored 248 runs in seven games at an impressive average of 41.33 and a brilliant strike rate of 141.71 along with two fifties. While Bairstow was in red-hot form, his opening partner David Warner was going through a lean patch.

David Warner struggled with the bat which in turn affected his captaincy as SRH managed to win only one of the seven games they played. The Australian was relinquished of his captaincy duties and was subsequently left out of the playing XI as Kane Williamson took charge of the team.

SOURCE: JONNY BAIRSTOW & JASON ROY INSTAGRAM