The Indian Cricket Control Board will back Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini, as the general consensus is that there has been no deliberate violation on their part, the PTI news agency reported.
The five players in question, Sharma, Pant, Gill, Shaw and Saini, were isolated after Cricket Australia decided to initiate a joint investigation with BCCI to determine if there was a violation of biosecurity protocols by the players.
“The players were standing outside the restaurant and due to the drizzle, they had entered. If this is a way of trying to destabilize the team before the third round, it is a bad tactic from Cricket Australia, ”a senior BCCI official told PTI.
According to protocol, players can eat outdoors, following the rules of social distancing.
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In particular, a BCCI high command had initially shelved a possible investigation into the matter, but things quickly turned around when CA issued a joint statement.
“The Cricket Control Board in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) received an alert today about a video post on social media purporting to show Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini eating at an indoor venue in Melbourne on New Years Day, ”CA said in a statement.
“The BCCI and CA are investigating the matter and are seeking to determine if the departure constitutes a violation of biosafety protocols.” The isolation protocols were implemented after consultation with the medical teams.
“… On the advice of the Australian and Indian medical teams, the aforementioned players have been isolated as a precaution.
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“This will include the separation of the group of players from the broader squads of India and Australia when traveling and at the training site,” CA further said.
The matter was first brought to the fore when a fan, in a series of tweets that included a video, suggested that the Indian players were sitting inside an indoor restaurant on Twitter on Friday. He claimed to have been sitting near them and also talked about getting a hug from Pant after paying for the players’ food. He later retracted the claim about the hug after it raised serious questions about a protocol violation.
It is understood that in accordance with the biosecurity protocols provided by Cricket Australia, players are not only prohibited from access to indoor restaurants, but must also not use public transport. However, they are allowed to wander around the cities where they are playing.
The Cricket Australia statement does not specify any timeframe for the investigation, but the Indian team has been known to be unhappy at the turn of events.
India and Australia are participating in a series of four tests at the moment and the third match will start on January 7 in Sydney.
The match will start on January 7 and the two teams will arrive in Sydney a couple of days before the scheduled start.
(with PTI inputs)
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