Peter Wright has said he will not be making himself available for selection for Scotland’s PDC World Cup of Darts title defence in Austria next month.

The reigning PDC world champion won the title alongside Gary Anderson in Germany last year, and the duo would have been among the favourites for this year’s tournament, which is being held from November 6-8.

Anderson has already voiced his concerns at travelling outside of the UK, during the current Covid-19 pandemic, and recently withdrew from the Autumn Series and World Series of Darts Finals, and now Wright has joined his fellow Scot in skipping events.

“Unfortunately, I’m not playing (in the World Cup) either,” Wright told the Weekly Dartscast.

“I can understand Gary when he says why he doesn’t travel, getting on a plane, and stuff like that.

“I thought about it a long time, and it’s another reason why I’ve pulled out of the two Europeans (European Tour events in Sindelfingen (October 16-18) and Riesa (October 23-25) coming up.

“It’s not because of people not doing their jobs properly, but there’s a few idiots breaking the rules and you could pick it (the virus) up.

“Poor Adrian Lewis and Stephen Bunting missing out (on the World Grand Prix after positive Covid-19 tests). I think they probably caught that when we was in Germany.

“It’s unfortunate, but I’ve won the World Cup with Gary. I’ve achieved my dream of winning it for Scotland, but I won’t be playing in another World Cup.”

Wright, who will be playing in the Premier League play-offs, behind closed doors in Coventry, this Thursday, was set to be the fourth seed in the upcoming European Tour events over the next two weekends that he has now pulled out of, but has confirmed he will play in the European Championship (October 29 – November 1), as well as the World Championship, if it is moved outside of the UK.

“You’ve got to think of your health and safety, and family,” Wright said.

“If the World Championships are abroad, then we’ll be driving there.

“That’s what we’re going to do for the European finals. Fingers crossed things can change really quickly and we can get a vaccine out to help everybody.”

Listen to the full interview with Peter Wright on the next Weekly Dartscast podcast