New Zealand coach Gary Stead has said that the players who presently going under a quarantine in Maldives may directly fly to England this weekend for the two-match Test series against them scheduled to begin on June 2 which would be followed by the WTC final against India on June 2.
"I don't know all the details right now," Stead said. "My understanding is that they are looking to leave [Maldives] somewhere around the time that we leave - May 15, 16 or 17 - in that time frame. My understanding is that England board is still working through the final details of what it means to come through the Maldives as supposed to New Zealand.”
Maldives will be on UK’s ‘red list’ from May 12 that means no direct flights will be there between the two countries while the residents who would be returning will have to go under a 10-day quarantine.
The New Zealand players Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, and physio Tommy Simsek had to be under quarantine for 3-4 days but it has now extended to seven days.
"They can still work on their fitness. So I don't see it as a bad thing. It's an adapting world and I think that's just something we've got to keep doing," Stead said.
The IPL 2021 was suspended with immediate effect after there was a surge in Covid-19 cases within the franchise teams.