David Warner’s beautiful message amid touching family reunion
A heartwarming post from David Warner has summed up the emotions of dozens of Australian cricketers and officials who've finally reunited with loved ones after fleeing Covid-ravaged India.
Warner was among a host of cricketers who left quarantine in Sydney on Monday morning after being forced to spend two weeks in a hotel after arriving home via the Maldives.
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Other players such as Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, plus commentators Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting checked out the Marriott hotel on Monday.
#BREAKING: Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting are among a group of Australian cricketers and commentators released from quarantine in Sydney today. #9Today pic.twitter.com/sbRZwJxWoc
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) May 30, 2021
The group hadn't seen their loved ones in weeks and were banned from returning to Australia from India until May 15, due to the Federal government's Covid-19 travel restrictions.
There were touching scenes as the cricket contingent finally got to see their family members again, with a lovely social media post from Warner on Sunday highlighting how much he was relishing the moment.
“14th day of quarantine, one sleep to go. I can’t wait to see my girls again,” Warner wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos featuring his wife Candice and three daughters.
The Aussie batsman also shared an Instagram story showing five alarms that he had set for Monday morning, in anticipation of the reunion with his family.
"Never wanted an alarm or five to go off soo (sic) badly," he captioned the picture with a pair of laughing emojis.
Warner, like many of the other Aussie cricketers, hadn't seen their families since April when they headed overseas for the Indian Premier League.
The worsening Covid crisis in India eventfully saw the competition postponed, with most of the Aussies involved unable to return to Australia right away because of the Federal government's travel ban.
Fast bowler Jason Behrendorff said he couldn't wait to get home and see his family after also being released from quarantine.
“It was nice to know that we were getting home that’s for sure,” Behrendorff said.
“It’s always tough being stuck somewhere, and knowing that we’re able to get home was a relief, and now we’re out of quarantine, I can’t wait to get home and see my family.”
Aussie players face jam-packed schedule
For many of the IPL contingent it's set to be a short reunion with family, with Australia set to tour the West Indies and Bangladesh in July and August.
The Aussies will play 13 matches in under a month in a busy schedule over that period, after five T20s in Bangladesh were added to the fixture list.
Justin Langer's team will travel from Barbados, which is hosting the final leg of a tour that features five T20s and three ODIs, to Bangladesh.
Australia's five-match T20 series in Bangladesh will be squeezed into approximately a week and a half during August, with players currently set to return home afterwards.
Some Aussie players could then return for the rescheduled IPL which is set to resume in the United Arab Emirates during September and October, with the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place across October and November.
The IPL was postponed in early May after a number of players tested positive for COVID-19, and there are 31 matches in the season still to be played.
A statement on the IPL website read: "The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year."
The BCCI added an extension would be sought from the International Cricket Council "to take an appropriate call on the hosting of ICC T20 World Cup 2021".
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