Everyone is sort of nervous whether they can get back into Australia: David Hussey

Kolkata Knight Riders mentor David Hussey has said that some of the fellow Australians in the IPL are a “bit nervous” about getting back home in the wake of a COVID-19 surge in India.

While Rajasthan Royals pacer Andrew Tye decided to lead midway from the IPL as he feared getting “locked out” of his own country, bowlers Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson withdrew from the remainder of the ongoing league citing personal reasons, their franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore said on Monday.

“Everyone is sort of a bit nervous about whether they can get back into Australia. I dare say there will be a few other Australians a bit nervous about getting back into Australia,” Hussey, a former Australia international, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Lead Australia pacer Pat Cummins is also part of the KKR squad.

Hussey praised the strict bio-bubble in place for the IPL but said it is natural for the players to be nervous about the current situation in India.

“Were stuck in bubbles. Its probably not too dissimilar to what all Victorians experienced last year in lockdown really. You get tested every second day. So its quite full-on but I think every precaution has been taken for everyones safety.

“It is on the radar. Its on the news every minute of the day. You see people in hospital beds. It puts a lot of things in perspective. We actually discussed after the game last night, how lucky we are to play the game and try to entertain people around the world,” said Hussey.

However, he said the players are pragmatic and want the tournament to go on.

“Everyones pretty nervous about whats going on over here, but theyre also pragmatic. A couple of players, their fathers have passed away. One person in particular, hes one of the staff members with us and his father passed away last year from COVID, and he was really pragmatic by saying it was his time to go.

“From a Kolkata point of view, were desperate for the tournament to keep going, purely because everyones in lockdown, theres not much else to do,” added Hussey.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)