Worried cricketers pull out of the Indian Premier League amid country’s Covid

Worried cricketers pull out of the Indian Premier League and hurry home as daily Covid deaths pass 2,800 and new cases reach 350,000 – as media outlets begin to BOYCOTT the ‘tone-deaf’ mega-money tournament

• The Indian Premier League is coming in for criticism for continuing its season 
• A new strain of the coronavirus has caused deaths and cases to soar in India
• At least four stars have already withdrawn from the current campaign over fears
• One newspaper group are boycotting coverage over a lack of response from IPL

By Harry Slavin For Mailonline

Published: 11:01 BST, 26 April 2021 | Updated: 11:24 BST, 26 April 2021

Frightened professional cricketers are giving up their lucrative IPL contracts and withdrawing from this year’s comepetition over fears of the growing Covid emergency in India. 

Australians Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson are the latest to announce they are leaving the country and heading back to their native country as deaths and cases continue to spike. 

They follow Rajasthan Royals bowler Andrew Tye in forfeiting their deals, while India international Ravichandran Ashwin has also withdrawn to support his family.

Australia’s Adam Zampa is one of the players to pull out of the IPL over coronavirus concerns

Zampa’s Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Kane Richardson has also flown home

Overnight, India recorded 2,812. New infections in last 24-hours rose to 352,991 – another new global record.

England ODI international Liam Livingstone left last week, while Test star Jofra Archer decided against taking up his place in the competition before it began. 

Livingstone cited his ‘bubble fatigue’ from the past year as a reason behind his decision to quit the Rajasthan Royals’ camp. 

The IPL is continuing to play in six cities across India, despite the alarming medical situation across the country.

Life-saving oxygen and hospital beds are running low, while it is thought that deaths caused by Covid are being under-reported. Makeshift crematoriums are being set up to cope with the rise in deaths. 

The league attracted criticism for continuing during the crisis, with a leading newspaper group accusing it of ‘commercialism gone crass’ as it suspended coverage on Sunday. 

India is recording nearly 3,000 coronavirus deaths per day as the country struggles to cope 

The Express Publications newspaper group saying it had stopped reporting on the competition until a ‘semblance of normalcy is restored’. 

‘In such a tragic time, we find it incongruous that the festival of cricket is on in India,’ the group said. ‘This is commercialism gone crass.’

Another paper has also hit out at the tournament, with Hindustan Times senior journalist Sharda Ugra describing the lack of response as ‘tone deaf’. 

‘Bubble-wrapped into tone deafness in a persistent, foghorn blast for its many sponsors every five minutes, rather than any quiet, measured acknowledgement of the suffering outside its gates,’ she wrote in a comment piece.

IPL matches will continue to be played behind closed doors, the lucrative nature of the competition leaving organisers reluctant to cancel or postpone.

Last year, the season was moved to September and took place in the UAE to ensure it could go ahead, Mumbai Indians lifting the title in November.  

MORE TO FOLLOW 

Makeshift crematoriums have been set up across the country, such as this one in Dehli

India, with a population of 1.3 billion, has a tally of 17.31 million infections and 195,123 deaths, after 2,812 deaths overnight, health ministry data showed, although health experts say the death count is probably far higher. Pictured: A graph showing new Covid-19 deaths per-day 

Coronavirus infections in India over the last 24 hours rose to 352,991 on Monday – a record peak for a fifth day running

India has set a world record for the highest number of daily Covid infections for a fourth day in the row with 349,691 infections as the country struggles to contain the surging second wave

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