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Australian cricketers are anxious about their uncertain path home from the Indian Premier League as officials examine whether a charter flight would be viable.
Australians involved in the Indian Premier League are "pretty anxious" about their uncertain path home as officials seek to shore up contingency plans while locking in Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson's return.
The federal government has halted all direct commercial and repatriation flights from India to Australia until May 15, with the measures set to be reviewed closer to that date.
The IPL is scheduled to finish on May 31, so any extension of the travel ban would create substantial headaches for Cricket Australia (CA).
CA has not contemplated the prospect of Pat Cummins and other superstars flying directly to the West Indies for Australia's limited-overs tour in June.
The most likely scenario is that Cummins and the group of almost 40 Australian players, coaches, officials and broadcast staff will return home via an end-of-tournament charter flight.
Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) boss Todd Greenberg has confirmed his organisation and CA are in talks regarding the prospect of a charter flight, which would require government approval plus significant funds.
There is still hope among some players that commercial flights will be viable late next month, and the IPL's biosecurity protocols would help ensure they satisfy any potential new pre-flight requirements introduced by Australia.
However, CA, the ACA and players will be desperate to leave nothing to chance.
Also on the horizon for CA and other boards is this year's Twenty20 World Cup, which is slated to be held in India but could yet be shifted because of the nation's COVID-19 crisis.
The most immediate priority for CA and the ACA is Zampa and Richardson, who both hold national contracts and are certain to be asked to tour the Caribbean.
The pair followed the lead of compatriot Andrew Tye in cutting their IPL stints short, wanting to return home.
Tye has arrived in Sydney and started his hotel quarantine stint.
There were fears that Zampa and Richardson could be stranded in Mumbai, having already left their IPL franchise's biosecurity bubble.
But it's believed that Zampa and Richardson could arrive in Australia as early as Thursday after a long stopover, having shored up plans to exit India before to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's border closure on Tuesday.
The prime minister claimed on Tuesday that indirect journeys from India to Australia would be impossible during coming weeks because stopover ports, like Qatar, would also block travellers.
Greenberg says the majority of players feel "really comfortable" in the IPL's biosecurity bubble and intend to finish their commitment.
However, he admitted they remain uneasy about what will happen beyond the final.
"They're all pretty anxious. They're in one of the biggest hotspots we've seen since COVID," Greenberg told 2GB.
"They're very anxious about getting home at the end."
Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, asked about potential approval for a CA charter flight at a time when thousands of Australians are trying to flee India, was coy on Wednesday.
"There aren't any decisions that have been made yet with respect to the cricketers," Mr Colbeck told ABC radio.
