Kane Richardson withdraws from Australia’s ODI and T20I squads after South Australia COVID-19 wave

Australia fast bowler Kane Richardson has withdrawn from the national squads for the ODI and T20I series against India, starting November 27. On Tuesday, November 17, after a COVID-19 outbreak in South Australia, a number of cricketers, including Test captain Tim Paine, were airlifted to Sydney in a chartered flight arranged by Cricket Australia (CA).

However, Kane, who became a father recently, decided to stay back with his wife and newborn baby. Fast bowler Andrew Tye has replaced him in the white-ball squads. Richardson also didn’t play in the 2020 IPL as his wife was due to give birth. For the time being, CA has shown empathy towards Richardson after he opted out of the series against India.

Kane Richardson wanted to remain in Adelaide with Nyki and their son: CA
“It was a difficult decision for Kane to make but one which has the complete support of the selectors and the entire playing squad,” Trevor Hohns, the national selector, was quoted as saying in cricket.com.au.

“Kane wanted to remain in Adelaide with Nyki and their son. We will always support our players and their families; even more so given the challenging environment, we are in. We will miss what he brings to the team but completely understand and support his decision,” he added.

Apart from Tye’s inclusion, Josh Phillipe and D’Arcy Short will also train with the squad in Sydney before joining their respective teams for the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). The coronavirus wave in South Australia has resulted in the closure of state borders and players flying to Sydney.

Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Tye and Short were affected. Philippe, on the other hand, is already in Sydney after playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL. Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia have closed their borders with South Australia.

With chances of New South Wales also closing the borders, CA decided to fly the likes of Labuschagne and Paine to Sydney. The rest of Australia’s squad are set to join the squad on Sunday, November 22. The opening ODI is scheduled to be played on November 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.