IPL news: Australian media, public angry at government for biased treatment to cricketers

After the IPL news of the suspension of the league, the Australian players and all the non-playing personnel have returned to their home country after spending their time in the Maldives due to the earlier flight restrictions in Australia. The Australian contingent of 38 members landed in Sydney on Monday after the Australian ban on all the flights coming from India was lifted on Saturday. However, the return of the Australian contingent has left a large section of their media and public fuming due to the special treatment given to the cricketers.

Sourav Ganguly led BCCI assured the safe travel of players

After the IPL news of the league being suspended in mid-season, the Australian players faced a challenge for returning home due to the travel ban imposed on India. The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI had assured everyone that it would do everything in its power for the arrangement of safe travel for its foreign members. The Australian contingent of 38 members including players like David Warner, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins landed at the Sydney Airport on Monday morning at 7 a.m. after which they were moved to hotels in Sydney for their 2-week quarantine period.

Australian media and the public angered by the biased treatment

The Australian media and public were angered due to the special treatment given to players and other non-playing personnel as any other person entering Australia would have to quarantine at the Howard Springs facility in the Northern side of the country. The Australian contingent was also put ahead of all the people who were waiting to enter Australia after the travel ban was lifted on Saturday. Cricket Australia manage to strike a deal to exclude the group of Australians from the daily quota of people allowed to enter the country.

After the IPL suspension, David Warner and others were flown to the Maldives where they stayed at an isolated resort. The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was postponed on May 4 by the IPL GC and the BCCI after players and staff members of different teams started testing positive for Covid-19 in the bio-bubble environment. During this time, a few Australian players made generous donations to support the fight against Covid-19 which included the Brett Lee donation and the Pat Cummins donation respectively.

Brett Lee donation

Brett Lee was one of the Australians who donated for the Covid-19 support in India. Getting inspired by the Pat Cummins donation to UNICEF Australia's 'India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal', Brett Lee has decided to donate 1 Bitcoin to aid Indian hospitals to procure oxygen supplies amid the scarcity. Pat Cummins had earlier revealed his donation of USD 50,000 to UNICEF Australia. UNICEF Australia's 'India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal' is an initiative started in partnership with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) to help tackle the ongoing crisis in India.

Image Source: cricket.com.au