Australia has had one of the most strict set of international rules and policies when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and it is safe to say that their ways have worked, considering the very few number of people (15-25) testing positive on a daily basis with practically zero per day deaths since October 2020.

So when some of the Australian citizens made their trip to India to become a member of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League as players, coaches, and commentators and found themselves in the middle of the most adversely affected region of the world at the moment, their travel rights to go back to their country were quickly and very swiftly taken away.

Official Announcment:

Adam Zampa & Kane Richardson 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.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/NfzIOW5Pwl

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 26, 2021

Australian cricketers Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson were the only two athletes who were able to make their way back home by finding a travel loophole in the Australian government’s plan. With direct flights between the two countries, they decided to fly to Doha first and then make their way home from there.

The country’s government has shut transit flight routes via Doha, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.https://t.co/kJV9HOjrga

— scroll.in (@scroll_in) May 1, 2021

However, as soon as they reached Melbourne, the government decided to fix these loopholes, shutting down ‘Via’ flights from places like Doha, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, bringing complete exodus to the rest of their citizens who are absolutely stuck in India, amid the largest wave of COVID-19 that the world has ever seen.

One such person is the former Australian cricketer turned commentator, Michael Slater, who called out his Prime Minister Scott Morrison for such a move:

If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It's a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect

— Michael Slater (@mj_slats) May 3, 2021

“If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It's a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect,” he tweeted.

On Tuesday morning, the Australian PM addressed Slater’s comments and called his take “absurd”.

“What we’re doing here is we’ve got a temporary pause in place because we’ve seen a rapid escalation in the infection rate in people who have travelled out of India,” Morrison said on the Nine Network.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, many of the local Australians also decided to stick with their leader’s decision of imposing the travel ban and reminded Slater that he must have known the potential risks of flying down to a hotspot even before the tournament had started.

Sorry but the safety of those Australian that live in Australia supersedes those that have chose to travel overseas (to known hot spots) for work during the pandemic, ride it out now Champ, I only feel for people who have been trying to get home prior to March/April 2020!!! pic.twitter.com/D0M27Il56Q

— Cebreb (@cebreb) May 3, 2021

Give me a break. You chose to go there knowing full well there was a covid crisis going on over there. You must have known there would be risks.

— Sami Dowd (@samidowd) May 3, 2021

We’re in a pandemic but you still CHOSE to go to India. You knew the risks but you went anyway. Did you expect to be able to pull the “don’t you know who I am” card to get around it?

— Nicole Ryland (@dalley8) May 3, 2021

Pretty sure you knew the risks before you left! Same as the Olympic athletes, although they don’t get any coun like you.

— Jodi Willis-Roberts OAM (@THROWER_7) May 3, 2021

U left to work overseas during a pandemic surely u must have suspected something like this could happen. U weight up the risk v reward and u lost. If u were that worried u shouldn’t have left

— cliffy1981 (@cliffy19811) May 3, 2021

“This is a temporary arrangement,” Mr Morrison had said earlier in the month. “It’s being put in place to ensure that we do not get a third wave here in Australia and that our quarantine system can remain strong.

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