David Warner and Michael Slater respond to bombshell rumours they punched on at bar in the Maldives

Cricketer David Warner and commentator Michael Slater have emphatically denied they punched on at a bar in the Maldives after escaping from Covid-plagued India. 

IPL star Warner and Slater, who commentates on a local network, are both staying at the Taj Coral Resort in the tropical archipelago for two weeks quarantine before they can return to Australia. 

Sources said the pair were at the bar late at night when they got into a verbal altercation that turned physical, reports The Sunday Telegraph. 

David Warner (pictured with wife Candice) has denied he and commentator Michael Slater punched on at a bar in the Maldives

Slater said he and Warner (pictured together) are great friends and there was no fight

Slater said he and Warner (pictured together) are great friends and there was no fight 

‘There is absolutely nothing to the rumour mill … Davie and I are great mates and absolutely zero chance of [having] a fight,’ Slater told the publication in a text on Saturday. 

Warner also downplayed any suggestion of fisticuffs between the two. 

‘I don’t know where you get these things from. Unless you were here and have got concrete evidence you can’t write anything,’ he said. 

‘Nothing happened.’

A group of 38 Australian cricketers, coaches, officials and commentators involved in the IPL are trying to make their way back to Australia after the Twenty20 tournament was halted because of India’s horrific Covid crisis. 

The virus is rampant among India’s population with hundreds of thousands of cases being detected each day. 

The majority of Australia’s IPL cricket contingent shifted from India to the Maldives via Thursday’s charter flight, which was arranged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

More than 350,000 Covid cases were recorded in India on Wednesday alone. Pictured: a banquet hall temporarily converted into a coronavirus ward in New Delhi

More than 350,000 Covid cases were recorded in India on Wednesday alone. Pictured: a banquet hall temporarily converted into a coronavirus ward in New Delhi

Australia's IPL cricket contingent were flown from India to the Maldives (pictured) for two weeks of quarantine

Australia’s IPL cricket contingent were flown from India to the Maldives (pictured) for two weeks of quarantine 

Mike Hussey, who is an assistant coach at Chennai Super Kings, was unable to travel with the group as he continues to serve a 10-day isolation period in India after testing positive for Covid.

Hussey was flown by air ambulance from Covid-stricken Delhi to Chennai to be closer to his IPL team’s head office.

The former Test batsman said he was indebted to his club for looking after him as he recorded a negative test on Thursday. 

‘I am extremely conscious of what is going on in India and feel very fortunate to be so well looked after by the franchise,’ Hussey told the Herald Sun.

‘I am resting in isolation at the moment and will hopefully get another negative test.’

David Warner and wife Candice Warner attend the 2020 Australian Cricket Awards at Crown in Melbourne in 2020

David Warner and wife Candice Warner attend the 2020 Australian Cricket Awards at Crown in Melbourne in 2020

Mike Hussey, who is an assistant coach at Chennai Super Kings, was unable to travel with the group as he continues to serve a 10-day isolation period in India after testing positive for Covid

Mike Hussey, who is an assistant coach at Chennai Super Kings, was unable to travel with the group as he continues to serve a 10-day isolation period in India after testing positive for Covid 

Australian Cricketers’ Association Chief Executive Todd Greenberg spoke to reporters on Thursday about Hussey’s condition, saying he was experiencing ‘relatively mild symptoms’.

‘He’s in good spirits… his symptoms are quite mild,’ Greenberg told reporters.

Current rules stipulate that the group of cricketers must spend a fortnight in the Maldives before landing in Australia.

But further adjustments to the travel ban, which is currently the subject of a legal challenge, could clear them to fly out earlier. 

After earlier banning flights from India, the federal government has agreed to three repatriation flight from May 15. 

Each flight will carry 150 passengers who will quarantine at the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory. 

Slater publicly criticised the travel ban in Covid-ravaged India imposed by Scott Morrison

Slater publicly criticised the travel ban in Covid-ravaged India imposed by Scott Morrison 

Michael Slater is blasted for complaining about Scott Morrison’s India travel ban 

Australian cricket legend Michael Slater has been labelled a ‘spoilt prat’ after publicly criticising the travel ban in Covid-ravaged India imposed by Scott Morrison.

Nationals frontbencher David Littleproud told Slater, who has since flown to the Maldives after the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition was suspended, to ‘grow up’.

‘Michael Slater needs to get over himself. He is acting like a spoiled prat,’ Mr Littlejohn told the Today Show on Thursday.

‘Michael Slater can sit on the beach (in the Maldives) and slam us over here in Australia. 

Australian cricket legend Michael Slater (pictured back with retired England cricket great Michael Vaughan) has been labelled a 'spoilt prat' after publicly criticising the travel ban in Covid-ravaged India imposed by Scott Morrison

Australian cricket legend Michael Slater (pictured back with retired England cricket great Michael Vaughan) has been labelled a ‘spoilt prat’ after publicly criticising the travel ban in Covid-ravaged India imposed by Scott Morrison

 ‘These are tough decisions, and we’re very empathetic with not only Australians there but also those thousands of Indians that are dying every day.’

Earlier this week, Slater savaged the prime minister for not letting Australian citizens return home from Covid-ravaged India.

The retired opening batsmen took to Twitter on Wednesday telling Scott Morrison to get on his private jet and ‘come and witness dead bodies on the street’.

‘Amazing to smoke out the PM on a matter that is a human crisis. The panic, the fear of every Australian in India is real!! How about you take your private jet and come and witness dead bodies on the street!’ Slater wrote on social media.

‘Above all my love and prayers to every Indian. You have been nothing but amazing to me every time I’ve been there. Please stay safe.’

 

 

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley made it clear on Wednesday his organisation will not seek special exemptions for the IPL group.

Any Australia-bound charter flight for the cricketers would need to be approved by the federal government.

Tim Seifert, New Zealand’s first-choice ODI wicketkeeper and opener, has also caught Covid while playing in the Indian Premier League.

Seifert, who was a teammate of Pat Cummins at the Kolkata Knight Riders, tested positive to the virus as he was preparing to leave India on a specially-arranged charter flight.

The 26-year-old will not be allowed to travel and will instead be treated for the virus in India at the same hospital where Michael Hussey is staying.

Australia's cricket stars have left India for the luxurious safety of the Maldives (pictured, Steve Smith at the airport)

Australia’s cricket stars have left India for the luxurious safety of the Maldives (pictured, Steve Smith at the airport)

WAG of star cricketer stranded in India before being flown to the Maldives fires back at claims players have ‘jumped the queue’ – while 9,000 other Aussies remain trapped in Covid hellhole

BY LEVI PARSONS AND CHARLOTTE KARP FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA 

The worried wife of Australian fast bowler Jason Behrendorff has spoken out after copping a barrage of hate online by vile trolls.

The left-arm fast bowler was stranded in covid-ravaged India after winning a contract to play for the Chennai Super Kings, but has now fled along with three dozen other Australian players, coaches, commentators and umpires to the safety of the Maldives.

Juvelle Behrendorff told the West Australian that over the past few days her social media messages have been filled with vicious comments saying they hope her husband Jason catches the virus.

Juvelle Behrendorff, the worried wife of Australian fast bowler Jason (pictured together) has spoken out after copping a barrage of hate by vile online trolls

Juvelle Behrendorff, the worried wife of Australian fast bowler Jason (pictured together) has spoken out after copping a barrage of hate by vile online trolls

At the moment there is a travel ban in place for anyone travelling from India, meaning 9000 Australian citizens and permanent residents remain trapped in the Covid hellhole as total cases surge past 25 million.

Many have accused the well-paid Australian cricketers of queue-jumping their way out of a country they knew would be dangerous. 

But Mrs Behrendorff said the players were told by Cricket Australia it would be safe in the IPL’s player bubble.

However, those assurances crumbled after multiple cricketers testing positive within the opening weeks, leading to the lucrative competition being abandoned.

‘They need to get out of India as the biosecurity bubble is no longer and they are going to be left to fend for themselves,’ she said.

‘They aren’t jumping the queue and they aren’t asking the Australian Government to pay for any special flights or anything. The players are willing to do whatever the Government wants them to do and just sit in a line and wait.

‘Once they complete two weeks of quarantine in the Maldives they will follow the same application process like all Australians have to get home.’

Jason Behrendorff is pictured at New Deli Airport in full hazmat gear before heading to the Maldives

Jason Behrendorff is pictured at New Deli Airport in full hazmat gear before heading to the Maldives

Mrs Behrendorff had a thriving styling business before it was decimated by the pandemic and the couple have two young children to support.

She said her husband is a full-time cricketer who plays the game to keep a ‘roof over our heads’ so the decision was made to go after they were told it was be safe.

Although Behrendorff is a star Twenty20 player who represented Australia, among the world’s biggest names in the IPL he isn’t a ‘big paid player’ getting the million-dollar contracts that some others are. 

The Maldives is a sought after holiday spot with cricketers staying at the Taj Coral Resort (pictured)

The Maldives is a sought after holiday spot with cricketers staying at the Taj Coral Resort (pictured) 

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