IPL 2021: After Players, Two Umpires Pull Out Of Tournament Amid COVID-19 Surge

IPL 2021 news: Nitin Menon and his Australian counterpart Paul Reiffel have withdrawn from the tournament citing 'personal reasons', amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. This is probably the first time in IPL history that a match official has left the tournament midway like this.  

Photo Courtesy: BCCI / IPL

Despite a few players opting out of the IPL 2021, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided against suspending the T20 tournament amid sharp spike in Coronavirus cases in the country. A total of 23 matches have been played so far this season and the apex cricketing board is hoping to complete the season successfully. 

Some foreign players left IPL 2021 midway and returned to their respective countries due to fear of either contracting Coronavirus or getting locked out of their country.

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Now, two major umpires of the tournament, Nitin Menon and his Australian counterpart Paul Reiffel have also withdrawn from the tournament citing 'personal reasons', amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. This is probably the first time in IPL history that a match official has left the tournament midway like this.  

According to a report, the BCCI had already kept many domestic umpires as reserves and now they will be umpiring for the rest of the IPL matches.

"Yes, Nitin has left as his immediate family members have COVID-19 and he is currently not in a mental state to conduct games," a BCCI official said.

In Reiffel's case, Australia imposing ban on incoming flights from India due to spurt in COVID-19 cases led to his immediate departure.

In the past week, Liam Livingston (Rajasthan Royals), Adam Zampa (RCB), Kane Richardson (RCB) and Andrew Tye (Rajasthan Royals) left the tournament midway due to Coronavirus outbreak and bio-bubble fatigue.  At the same time, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin decided to 'take a break' from the tournament to support his family during Covid crisis.