New Zealand test squad flees India ahead of England tour, COVID positive Tim Seifert forced to stay back
Wellington, May 8, 2021: Members of the New Zealand test squad playing in the IPL have fled India and will now await their scheduled departure to England for their upcoming test series while staying in Maldives.
The Indian Premier League event, which is the world’s richest TTwenty league, was shut down due to safety reasons associated with the escalation of the COVID-19 crisis in India, but the foreign players from some countries particularly Australia are being forced to remain in India.
Tim Seifert, who plays for the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders and is also a member of the New Zealand test squad, has tested positive for the virus and could not board the plane to the Maldives along with his fellow team members. He is now under quarantine in India and is being treated at the same Chennai hospital where former Australian test player Michael Hussey has been staying since he also tested positive earlier this week.
Other members of the New Zealand test squad who were involved in the IPL include; Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner and Kyle Jamieson. The players had initially been scheduled to stay in New Delhi before going to England for the test series they are to play there but have instead decided to await the remainder of the time before the test tour in the Maldives.
Out of the two charter flights that were scheduled to take the New Zealand IPL players back home, one has already departed and the next is to leave later today. According to a statement made by New Zealand Cricket boss David White, they are doing all they can for Tim Seifert and hope the player tests negative so he can be approved for discharge after he recovers from this unfortunate turn of events.
The New Zealand test squad meanwhile, after learning that their arrival in England had been delayed by a week, decided to leave India for Maldives. Trent Boult, a part of the New Zealand pace battery, had earlier left India for New Zealand to be with his family before joining the test squad in England.
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