Andrew Tye, Rajasthan Royals pacer, who left for Australia midway through the IPL in the wake of the COVID-19 surge in India, was critical of the franchises spending insane money on cricket at a time when their country is facing an unprecedented health crisis.
Andrew Tye, however, said the league should go ahead if it was a means of relieving stress or giving a glimmer of hope to those who are suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrew Tye Questions Companies And Franchises Spending Lots Of Money Amidst Covid-19 Crisis
Andrew Tye is the 4th overseas player in the RR camp who has been ruled out. Andrew Tye, who had first joined RR in 2020, wasn’t a regular for RR but was one of the overseas options that RR could have considered.
The Purple Cap winner of IPL 2018, Andrew Tye only played 6 matches for Punjab Kings(then KXIP) in 2019. He moved to RR at his base price of Rs 1 crore. He only played one match in IPL 2020 in UAE. He went for 50 runs and scalped one wicket in the fixture and despite that fact, he was retained by the franchise.
“Looking at it from an Indian point of view, how are these companies and franchises spending so much money, and the government, on the IPL when there are people not being able to get accepted into hospital?
If sport can continue and be one of those avenues to relieve stress or give a glimmer of hope that the world is OK and there is light at the end of the tunnel, I think it should go ahead,” Andrew Tye was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“But I know that’s not everyone’s feelings and I completely respect everyone’s views from all angles.”
He said players participating in the IPL are safe now but at the same time asked whether it’s going to stay safe. The 34-year-old pacer left the IPL 2021 on Sunday as he feared getting “locked out” of his own country in the wake of a COVID-19 surge in India.
Andrew Tye’s Pulling Out Followed By Kane Richardson And Adam Zampa’s Withdrawal Citing Personal Reasons
Andrew Tye had not got a game with the Rajasthan Royals so far and his contract with the franchise was worth Rs one crore.
“There were a number of reasons, but the main one was with the situation that has started to happen back home in Perth with a lot of cases in hotel quarantine coming out of India,” Tye told ‘SEN radio’ from Doha on Monday.
“Now there’s been a community case in Perth governments are trying to restrict numbers coming back in, especially Western Australia.”
The bubble fatigue was also a factor, said the pacer. After his pulling out, the Australian duo of Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa (both Royal Challengers Bangalore) withdrew citing “personal reasons”.
However, not all Australians are very concerned. Pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile, who has a Rs 5 crore deal with Mumbai Indians would rather be in the bio-bubble than risk a trip back home at this point.
Rajasthan Royals management has reportedly approached all remaining 7 franchises seeking players on loan with several of their overseas players being ruled out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Rajasthan Royals are left with just four overseas players in IPL 2021 in the likes of David Miller, Jos Buttler, Mustafizur Rahman, and Chris Morris while the other 4 namely Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, and Andrew Tye either pulling out or injured.