Now umpires Nitin Menon, Paul Reiffel pull out of IPL
New Delhi: India's top umpire Nitin Menon and his Australian counterpart Paul Reiffel has pulled out of the IPL due to personal reasons It is learnt that Menon, a resident of Indore, has left the IPL bio-bubble after his wife and mother tested positive for COVID-19.
Menon is the only Indian in the ICC elite panel of umpires and was recently praised for his work during India's home series against England.
"Yes, Nitin has left as his immediate family members have COVID-19 and he is currently not in a mental state to conduct games," a BCCI official told PTI.
In Reiffel's race, the Australian government imposing a travel ban from India in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases led to his quick departure.
Menon is the second Indian to pull out of the tournament after Indian off spinner Ravi Ashwin, who also went home after all his family members tested positive.
Three Australians Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa have left home due to the unprecedented health crisis in India.
However the BCCI is going ahead with the tournament and interim CEO Hemang Amin has assured all players and support staff that they remain safe in the bio-bubble.
BCCI is likely to replace Menon and Reiffel with two of its own pool of umpires.
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Double-decker electric bus gutted in fire at Kurla BEST depot
Mumbai (PTI): An empty double-decker electric bus was gutted in a fire during servicing at a BEST depot in Mumbai's Kurla area on Sunday, officials said, adding that nobody was injured.
The blaze broke out inside the Kurla BEST bus depot near Kanakia Building at 4.14 pm, according to preliminary information from the Mumbai Fire Brigade.
The parked bus was unoccupied at the time of the incident.
Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control. The exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, they said.
No injuries were reported in the incident, officials added.
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking has hired 50 electric double-decker buses from Switch Mobility in its fleet of around 2,700 buses.
