IPL 2021: South African players and coaches get the green light to fly home from India

South African players and coaches involved in the now postponed IPL 2021 are on their way home. Earlier, it was assumed that the South African contingent would have to stay in a 7-day quarantine in India before heading back to their home country.

The seven-day quarantine came into the picture after Amit Mishra, teammates with Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, tested positive for the coronavirus. Likewise, from Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, and Lungi Ngidi might have had to stay back after the virus breached the bio bubble in the CSK camp.

However, as per reports from IOL, the South African government has given the green light to all its players to return home.

UPDATE: The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season with immediate effect.

Details - https://t.co/OgYXPj9FQy pic.twitter.com/lYmjBId8gL
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 4, 2021

The players and coaches would then have to home quarantine in line with the current World Health Organization recommendations that stipulate 10-14 days. As many as 14 South African players and coaches were involved in the IPL.

Australian contingent involved in IPL set to fly to the Maldives

Cricket Australia and the ACA have just released a joint statement following the postponement of IPL 2021. https://t.co/3SbLtdtHRh
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) May 4, 2021

While the South African government has been complying, the Australian government has been strict with their norms. Close to 40 Australians were part of the recently postponed IPL as players, coaches and commentators. The Australian government imposed a ban on all flights from India and has closed its border for its citizens.

The ban has been imposed until May 15, and the Australian unit could end up staying in the Maldives for that time period. Pat Cummins admitted that the strict rules from the Australian government had caused a bit of anxiety among the Australian camp who were part of the IPL.

"[It has] added a bit of anxiety for the Aussies over here but we signed up to play the tournament until the start of June so hopefully it all reopens on May 15 and we can get back," said the Australian bowler in a chat with Fox Sports.

IPL chairman Brijesh Patel has once again assured the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council would do everything in their means to get overseas cricketers back to their countries.