The 40-member strong Australian IPL contingent, barring Michel Hussey who is Covid-19 positive, flew off to Maldives on Thursday.

The Aussies will be stationed in the island country before they can return home once travel restrictions end on May 15.

“We can confirm that Australian players, coaches, match officials and commentators have been safely transported from India and are en route to the Maldives,” Cricket Australia (CA) stated in a media release. “The Australians will remain in Maldives until the conclusion of the travel pause pertaining to flights from India to Australia,” it added.

Hussey, the batting coach of Chennai Super Kings, was flown to Chennai from Delhi in an air ambulance and will be in quarantine there to recover from the infection.

The Australian body also thanked the BCCI for its assistance in ensuring that the players were able to leave India within two days of the league’s suspension.

The New Zealanders — 17 of them, including players and support staff — have different plans. Four members of their Test contingent, including captain Kane Williamson, will head for the UK on May 11 while the rest will fly home on Friday, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced.

New Zealand are scheduled to play hosts England in a two-match Test series, beginning on June 2, before facing India in the World Test Championship final in Southampton from June 18.

“We’ve worked closely with the BCCI and the IPL franchises on the various departure strategies and we’re very appreciative of their support,” NZC chief executive David White said on Thursday.

Williamson, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner, as well as physio Tommy Simsek, are the ones who would be travelling to the UK from New Delhi, but not before May 11.

Pace spearhead Trent Boult, however, will return to New Zealand briefly before joining the Test squad in early June.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore intimated through a media release on Thursday that their domestic players and support staff entered their home towns from specific pre-identified hubs and that their foreign recruits left for their respective destinations on charter flights. “We worked in consultation with BCCI and the respective cricket Boards to ensure the safe return of all our personnel to their homes,” the RCB said.

The Bangladesh duo of Shakib-al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman returned to Dhaka on Thursday afternoon on a charter flight arranged by the Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Most of the South African contingent have returned to their country while a few of the West Indies players, including KKR’s Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, were scheduled to fly out of India for the Caribbean on Thursday evening.