After opting out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Australia spinner Adam Zampa on Tuesday said that he pulled out of the competition in order to keep his mental health in check.
On Monday, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowlers Zampa and Kane Richardson opted out of the ongoing IPL due to personal reasons and they conveyed to the franchise that they want to head back to Australia.
"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," Sydney Morning Herald quoted Zampa as saying.
"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," he added.
When asked about how strong the bio-bubble is in India, Zampa said: "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," he added.
On Monday, Australian pacer Pat Cummins who is in India playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) donated USD 50,000 to aid India's fight against COVID-19. He made a donation to the PM-Cares Fund for the purchase of oxygen supplies for Indian hospitals.
"I feel like for leaving anyone leaving halfway through a tournament, it's definitely a financial sacrifice. But from my point of view I wanted to put my mental health first," Zampa said.
"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," he added.
Amidst the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India reported 3.23 lakh new coronavirus cases and over 2,700 related deaths in the last 24 hours.
A total of 3,23,144 new COVID-19 cases, 2,771 related deaths, and 2,51,827 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total active cases to 28,82,204, as per the health ministry update on Tuesday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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