Southampton: After withdrawing his name from the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Australian pacer Kane Richardson explained as to how the decision was taken and what exactly led to him pulling out of the tournament.
Earlier this week, Richardson who was slated to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pulled out of the IPL as he and his wife are expecting the birth of their first child.
As a result, RCB named spinner Adam Zampa as a replacement for Richardson.
"It's always difficult to withdraw from a competition like the IPL, it's the pinnacle domestic competition in the world so it wasn't an easy decision, but when I sat down and thought about it, it was definitely the right one," Richardson said from Southampton on Wednesday.
"With all that's going on in the world at the moment and the challenge of getting home on time for something as unpredictable as the birth of a child, I couldn't risk missing that," he said.
"I'm disappointed to miss the IPL but hopefully there are opportunities ahead for that. I don't think I'd be able to live with missing the birth of my first child. I can be home and support my wife as best I can, and hopefully, those cricket opportunities come around again," he added.
Richardson is currently a part of 21-member of Australia who is in England to play three T20Is and as many ODIs.
Zampa's entry has now strengthed RCB's spin attack which already comprises of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar. Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, and the uncapped Shahbaz Ahmed are the other spin options in the RCB squad.