After some players have withdrawn their names from the on-going IPL 2021, a couple of umpires too have joined the tally according to a report in The Indian Express.
Nitin Menon and Australia’s Paul Reiffel have decided to opt out of the tournament citing personal reasons. Both of them are part of ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires.
Menon has flown back to his home in Indore after his mother and wife had tested positive for COVID-19 while Reiffel decided to return after getting anxious about the Australian government suspending flight from India till May 15.
“Nitin has a small child to look after as his mother and wife have tested positive while Reiffel informed BCCI that he fears not being able to go home due to the Australian government’s decision banning all flights from India. The BCCI already had several local umpires as back-up so they will be officiating in games in which Menon and Reiffel were scheduled to stand,” a BCCI official confirmed to The Indian Express.
This is the first instance where match officials have decided to leave the tournament. The BCCI was expecting another Australian umpire Rod Tucker to join the cash-rich league but he has denied citing due to personal reasons.
Earlier, three Aussie cricketers Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye had also withdrawn their names from this edition of the IPL.