The third test between Australia and India will be played from January 7.
The four-game test series between Australia and India is curiously set at 1-1 at the moment. The third test will be played in Sydney from January 7. The visitors have resumed training before the crucial game, but are also dealing with a possible bio-bubble rupture in Australia. People like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Navdeep Saini had visited a restaurant in Melbourne on New Year’s Day.
A fan named Navaldeep Singh saw them and paid his bill as well. He posted the photo of the players and also narrated the entire incident on his Twitter account, as it went viral on social media. Players also clicked on a photo with him and also Rishabh Pant hugged him.
But it appears that the players ended up violating Cricket Australia’s biosecurity protocols. The players and staff of both teams must follow strict measures to minimize the chances of the series being affected. They are allowed to eat outside, but were told to sit outside.
However, staff at Secret Kitchen, a barbecue and noodle restaurant in the Chadstone Mall where the players dined, confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that Indian cricketers were sitting inside. The BCCI is now reviewing the video that has gone viral even as the board’s spokesperson declined to comment on the matter as of now. Even CA has yet to go out and open up on the same.
Queensland is closely monitoring the situation
India and Australia will play the fourth and final round of the series in Brisbane. But nothing has been confirmed yet, as the Queensland government continues to review the situation in New South Wales and Victoria. There is still the possibility that the last two tests will be played in Sydney only if the COVID-19 situation worsens.
Victoria recorded 10 new local coronavirus cases on Saturday, but Queensland’s borders are not yet closed for them. Queensland has already closed its borders to New South Wales and the situation in Victoria will be reviewed on 8 January.
In the meantime, the possible rupture of the bio-bubble by Indian players will also play a vital role, and Rohit Sharma, along with four others, may need to be tested for COVID-19 before entering the bubble again.
