IPL 2021; Andrew Tye Questions: I wonder how IPL franchises spending so much amidst COVID-19 crisis in India?
Tye, 34, left the Indian Premier League on Sunday because he feared being "locked out" of his own country as a result of India's COVID-19 surge.
Updated 4/27/2021, 3:39:00 PM
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, Rajasthan Royals pacer Andrew Tye, who left for Australia midway through the IPL, was critical of the franchises' lavish spending on cricket at a time when their country is facing an unprecedented health crisis. Tye, on the other hand, believes the league should go ahead if it is a way to relieve tension or give hope to those who are struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Looking at it from an Indian perspective, how are these corporations and franchises, as well as the government, investing so much money on the IPL when people are unable to get into hospitals?
“If sport can continue and be one of those avenues to relieve stress or give a glimmer of hope that the world is OK and there is light at the end of the tunnel, I think it should go ahead. But I know that’s not everyone’s feelings and I completely respect everyone’s views from all angles.” Tye said.He said that the players (in the IPL) are safe now, but questioned whether they will be safe in the future. Tye, 34, left the IPL on Sunday because he was afraid of being "locked out" of his own country as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak in India. He had yet to play a game for the Royals, despite the fact that his deal with the team was worth Rs 1 crore.
“There were a number of factors, but the main one was with the situation that has started to happen back home in Perth with a lot of cases in hotel quarantine coming out of India,” Tye said on Monday on ‘SEN radio' from Doha.“Now that there has been a community case in Perth, governments are attempting to limit the number of people returning to Australia, especially Western Australia.”
According to Tye, bubble exhaustion was also a factor.
Following Tye's withdrawal, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa (both of Royal Challengers Bangalore) withdrew for "personal reasons." However, not everyone in Australia is involved. Nathan Coulter-Nile, a pacer with the Mumbai Indians on a Rs 5 crore contract, would rather be in the bio-bubble than risk a trip back home at this stage.