“My thoughts go out to everyone over here. I understand how dire the situation is. It’s bigger than cricket,” Adam Zampa said.
On Tuesday, Australian spinner Adam Zampa opened up on his decision to head back to Australia in midst of the ongoing IPL tournament and said he called quits because it was the “most vulnerable” bio-secure bubble he has been a part of. The cricketer also said that tournament should have been held in UAE, like last year.
On Monday, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson’s franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore tweeted that the players are “returning to Australia for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of #IPL2021”.
“Royal Challengers Bangalore management respects their decision and offers them complete support,” it added.
However, speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Zampa said he felt a lot safer in the UAE where the IPL was held last year. “We’ve been in a few (bubbles) now, and I feel like this is probably the most vulnerable. I just feel like because it’s India, we’re always being told about the hygiene over here and being extra careful… I just felt like it was the most vulnerable.”
“The IPL that was held in Dubai six months ago didn’t feel that way at all. I felt like that was extremely safe. Personally, I feel like that would have been a better option originally for this IPL, but obviously, there’s a lot of political stuff that goes into it.”
“Obviously there’s the T20 World Cup that’s meant to be happening here later this year. That’s probably going to be the next discussion in the cricket world. Six months is a long time,” the Australian leg-spinner said.
Adam Zampa, who did not get an opportunity to play in this season of IPL after being bought for Rs 1.5 crore, said a lot of factors contributed to his decision to leave the IPL.
“Obviously the COVID situation over here is pretty dire. I just felt, rocking up to training and stuff, obviously, I wasn’t playing in the team as well, I was going to training and I wasn’t finding the motivation.”
“There were a few other things like bubble fatigue and the chance to get home, once all the news broke about the flights and everything. I thought this was the best time to make the call.”
There has been a debate about whether the IPL should continue amid the ongoing Covid crisis in India.
Speaking on the same, the Australian player said: “There’s a lot of people coming out and saying games of cricket could be a reprieve for some people but that’s also going to be a personal answer.
“Someone who has a family member on their death bed probably doesn’t care about the cricket.”
Zampa also lauded the contribution by his fellow cricketer Pat Cummins to PM-CARES fund.
“Obviously really generous. I think we’ll probably see more of it now. My thoughts go out to everyone over here. I understand how dire the situation is. It’s bigger than cricket,” the spinner said.
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