Umpires Nitin Menon and Paul Reiffel pull out of IPL 2021 amid COVID-19 crisis in India

Umpires Nitin Menon and Paul Reiffel are the latest to have withdrawn from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 as India continues to reel under the dangerous second wave of COVID-19 in the country.

Indian umpire Nitin Menon and his Australian counterpart Paul Reiffel are the latest in a growing list of people who have decided to pull out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (2021) due to personal reasons. Nitin Menon, who is the only Indian in ICC's Elite panel of umpires, is believed to have left the IPL 2021 bio-bubble to return home to Indore. Menon's wife and mother have tested positive for COVID-19, according to reports. "Yes, Nitin has left as his immediate family members have COVID-19 and he is currently not in a mental state to conduct games," PTI quoted a BCCI official as saying.