Menon, who was widely praised for his officiating of England’s tour of India earlier this year
Leading umpire Nitin Menon has pulled out of the Indian Premier League due to personal reasons.
Menon, who was widely praised for his officiating of England’s tour of India earlier this year, has left the competition’s bio-secure bubble after his parents tested positive for Covid-19.
Recorded cases in India have sat above 300,000 for the past eight days, though the eight-team tournament has continued behind closed doors.
A BCCI official told PTI: “Yes, Nitin has left as his immediate family members have COVID-19 and he is currently not in a mental state to conduct games.”
Menon is the only Indian umpire on the ICC’s elite panel; he stood in six matches during the Chennai leg of the IPL and had been due to feature in four games in Delhi.
He was absent on Wednesday, however, as Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad, having already flown home to Indore.
He is the latest figure to leave the tournament in recent days, following Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Australians Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have committed a donation of $1million (£717,206) towards assisting India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, with a focus on improving oxygen supplies.
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