The left-arm quick had been in action for the Chennai Super Kings this season, before the competition was shut down earlier this week in response to the virus running rampant through the Sub-continental nation.

Behrendorff is one of roughly 40 Australians stuck in India after the federal government's recent ban on travelers returning from the country until at least May 15. Thirty-one-year-old Behrendorff, whose club has had three staffers test positive to the virus including batting coach Michael Hussey, took to social media late on Tuesday and said:

"Like most cricketers, India has always been a special place to me. It's a beautiful country, the people are always welcoming and playing cricket in India is like no other experience in the world.

"It is never lost on me how privileged I am to to be able to play cricket for a living and travel to such countries like India, no more so than in the past 16 months.

"It's really horrific and distressing seeing what is happening at the moment here and knowing there isn't much I can do. My thoughts are never far from those here in India who are being affected by the virus.

"I can't even imagine what you are going through.

"I wanted to do something to help and am making a donation to the UNICEF project for the India COVID-19 crisis. I encourage anyone who has also experienced the generous hospitality of India to do the same.

"I know it is only small. It could never match the love and friendship India has shown myself and my family over the years, but I hope it can make even the slightest difference."

Former Test opener Michael Slater claimed Prime Minister Scott Morrison had "blood on his hands" soon after the travel ban from India was announced.

Cricket Australia and the players union, the Australian Cricketers' Association, say they won't seek exemptions from the government ban.

The lucrative Twenty20 tournament has been suspended amid a widening coronavirus outbreak - four franchises have reported positive COVID-19 tests to players or staffers.

While other international players immediately began preparing to fly home, some IPL Australians are reportedly considering hiring a charter flight to Dubai or travelling to the Maldives.

Fourteen Australian cricketers and numerous other coaches, support staffers, commentators and broadcast crew remain in India.

The captain of Steve Smith's Delhi Capitals - Amit Mishra - has tested positive.

Mishra's positive test has forced Smith, his Australian teammate Marcus Stoinis, Delhi coach Ricky Ponting and bowling coach James Hopes into isolation.

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Australians David Warner and Mitchell Marsh will also be isolated after the wicketkeeper at their franchise, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, tested positive.

Fellow countrymen Pat Cummins, Ben Cutting and assistant coach David Hussey, all at the Kolkata Knight Riders, had already been isolating after two players at their outfit tested positive.

As Indian society buckles with more than 20 million COVID-19 cases and more than 220,000 deaths from the virus, the IPL halted competition.

"The tournament stands suspended," IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said.

"Right now, we can't say when we can reschedule it."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India voted unanimously to suspend the tournament, which had been due to finish on May 30.

In a statement, the BCCI said it was "imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times."

"The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021."

Morrison said on Tuesday the latest figures of coronavirus-positive cases in passengers coming out of India demanded the government pause flights.

Eight crossbenchers on Tuesday wrote to the prime minister asking him to revoke the pause and urgently repatriate Australians in India, starting with the most vulnerable, and set up a dedicated surge capacity quarantine facility in Australia.

Australian cricketers Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye and Kane Richardson last week fled the IPL, returning home via Qatar.

But any Australian attempting that journey now risks jail time and fines amid the travel ban, though the prime minister said such sanctions were remote.

Complicating matters is Australia's limited-overs tour of the West Indies in June, with Smith, Cummins and other stars facing a tight turnaround if their homecoming was delayed.

With AAP