India reveal demands as Brisbane lockdown casts Test in doubt

Brisbane’s three day lockdown due to fears of a potential coronavirus outbreak has cast the Gabbra Test in doubt, despite The standoff between the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI), Cricket Australia and the Queensland Government continuing.

Australia and India squared off on Day 1 in the third Test at the SCG on Thursday as tensions boiled away off the pitch.

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Just hours before the Third Test was set to get underway, SEN reported India will refuse to fly to Brisbane.

The report suggested the Indian players are fed up with quarantine and the Board of Control for Cricket India.

Due to the Covid outbreak in Sydney in December, the Queensland Government shutdown its borders to the Southern state.

This would mean Australia and India would be forced into a quarantine bubble again when they go north of the border for the Gabba Test.

Now, the Press Trust of India have reported the BCCI have formally contacted Cricket Australia and asked for a relaxation of the quarantine restrictions.

“The discussions are still on but today BCCI has formally sent a letter seeking relaxation of hard quarantine for its players if they are to have the match in Brisbane,” a senior BCCI offical told the Press Trust.

“The MoU that was signed never mentioned about two hard quarantines. India have done one hard quarantine in Sydney (practice and back to hotel room).”

Reports suggest the BCCI want the demand met in writing, despite Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young suggesting teammates will be able to mingle.

But in a further development on Friday morning, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced greater Brisbane would undergo a three day lockdown.

The premier also announced masks would become mandatory after a hotel cleaner tested positive to the highly contagious UK strain of Covid.

Cricket Australia and the BCCI will be waiting on the outcome of the lockdown before deciding whether the Gabba Test will go ahead.

India and Australia allowed to mingle in hotel bubble

Dr Young suggested teammates would be able to come together within their hotel in Brisbane, but the team would have to remain in a quarantine bubble.

She said the Indian team does not get any special treatment as these are the standard rules, which the AFL and Super Netball players abided earlier this year.

“My rules are the standard rules I‘ve used for sporting teams right from the start and they’ve worked very successfully for us, so that’s what we’ll continue to do,” she told reporters.

Indian legend and commentator Sunil Gavaskar put the showdown in perspective and said all parties were just looking out for their players.

"The Queensland Government is fully entitled to protect its people, and similarly I believe the Board of Control for Cricket India is fully entitled to protect its team,” he said on Channel 7.

“I think that's something we must never forget."

Fans on social media questioned whether India were playing hardball over their demands, while some questioned whether the Test will go ahead after Brisbane’s lockdown.

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