The Indian cricket team will have to undergo a mandatory two weeks of quarantine when they tour Australia later this year, Cricket Australia has confirmed.
Cricket Australia Chief Executive Nick Hockley told ESPNcricinfo that the two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined.
“What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be. We’ll obviously take the guidance of the health experts and the authorities,” said Mr Hockley.
Highlights:
Earlier Mr Hockley told SBS Hindi that he was very hopeful of Indian team coming to Australia.
“We remain very optimistic around India coming in. So the good news for everyone who was looking forward to watching India play in the World Cup is that it’s highly likely that it will be here for this summer,” he said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly had asked Australia for a shorter quarantine period for his team.
“Yes, we have confirmed that tour. In December we will be coming. We just hope the number of quarantine days gets reduced a bit,” Mr Ganguly told TV channel India Today.
“Because we don’t want the players to go all that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks. It is very, very depressing and disappointing.”
However, Cricket Australia denied the wish.
Nick Hockley said, “There’s a huge amount at stake if we are unable to do that.”
“Whether it’s a hotel on-site or hotels in close proximity to venues, it’s certainly about creating that environment where we are minimising the risk of infections and creating a biosecure environment is the absolute priority. There’s a huge amount at stake if we are unable to do that,” he said.
Indian players will likely be quarantined at Adelaide Oval which has a hotel.
The Indian cricket team is scheduled to tour Australia in December.
Mr Hockley told SBS Hindi, “So the good news for everyone who was looking forward to watching India play in the World Cup is that it’s highly likely that they will be here for this summer and currently we are scheduled to play ten matches against India being four test matches, two t20s and three ODI.”
India will play its first day-night test match on foreign soil at Adelaide Oval.
Here is the complete schedule:
Men’s Test Series against India
Australia v India at the Gabba, Brisbane (December 3- 7)
Australia v India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (December 11 – 15)
Boxing Day Test, Australia v India at the MCG, Melbourne (December 26 – 30)
Pink Test, Australia v India at the SCG, Sydney (January 3 – 7)
CommBank Women’s ODI Series against India
Australia v India at Manuka Oval, Canberra (January 22)
Australia v India at Junction Oval, St Kilda (January 25)
Australia v India at Blundstone Arena, Hobart (January 28)
Gillette Men’s ODI Series against India
Australia v India at Perth Stadium, Perth (January 12)
Australia v India at the MCG, Melbourne (January 15)
Australia v India at the SCG, Sydney (January 17)
Source: SBS News