IPL 2021: RCB players, support staff leave for home as per franchise's arrangements

The Royal Challengers Bangalore staff and team members have dispersed home after the Indian Premier League’s 14th edition has been suspended and indefinitely postponed midway. Sharing the travel details of all their team members, Royal Challengers Bangalore shared a post on Instagram.

The domestic players and staff members have been charted to specific pre-identified hubs and will be subsequently connected to their respective cities, the post mentioned. Meanwhile, all the IPL bound Australians are currently staying in a facility arranged by the franchise in the Maldives until the travel ban for the ones from India is uplifted.

On May 6, a statement from Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association said: “The Australians will remain in the Maldives until the conclusion of the travel pause pertaining to flights from India to Australia”.

On the other hand, all of RCB’s team members from New Zealand are on a special charter plane to Auckland, while the South Africans are traveling to Johannesburg via Mumbai and Doha. They confirmed that their only South Africa player, AB de Villiers, will fly back home via Mumbai.

Apart from mentioning that all foreign players will be in touch with their respective boards, RCB also thanked all its players, staff members, and fans for their support in the IPL 2021.

Virat Kohli reached Mumbai

RCB skipper Virat Kohli flew to his Mumbai home yesterday and was seen ensuring all precautions and using all advised protective Covid-19 gears. Pertinently, Kohli’s RCB was the first team to express their unwillingness after two players from the Kolkata Knight Riders, their rivals for the 30th league fixture, tested positive.

The subsequent cases in CSK, DC, and SRH camp snowballed into the cancellation of the IPL, with BCCI admitting that it is “imperative that the tournament is suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times.”

Meanwhile, the Board is currently in search of windows and venues for the competition of the curtailed event as president Sourav Ganguly admitted that scrapping IPL will lead to a loss to the tune of 2500 Crores to the apex body. Currently, England, UAE, and Australia have emerged as potential venues, although any official confirmation is awaited.