CHENNAI: Five members of the Indian team – Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini – have been isolated from the rest of the contingent after a fan posted a video of them dining in an indoor restaurant. The five will be allowed to train during the period, but in accordance with strict protocols, will not be allowed to mix with the rest of the squad, said a Cricket Australia statement.
It is understood that the five will be subjected to a couple of COVID-19 tests in the next three days following which they will be cleared to mix with the rest of the squad, provided results are negative.
The urgency shown by CA and the BCCI is understandable as the tour moves to Sydney on Monday, a city which is currently witnessing a spike in new cases. The five players, in fact, had trained with the rest of the squad on Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. As things stand, the five are expected to travel to Sydney.
“The BCCI and CA are investigating the matter and seeking to determine whether the outing constitutes a breach of bio-security protocols. In the interim, on the advice of the Australian and Indian medical teams, the aforementioned players have been placed in isolation as a precaution. This will include separating the group of players from the broader Indian and Australian squads when travelling and at the training venue,” the CA said in a statement on Saturday.
On Friday, an Indian fan posted a video of the players dining at an indoor restaurant on his Twitter handle. As per CA's Covid-19 protocol, players are allowed to dine outside their hotel but only outdoors. The fan even claimed that he had paid the players’ restaurant bill.
By Saturday, however, CA looked at it with seriousness and got in touch with the BCCI. While the fan even claimed that Pant hugged him, he went on to deny it later. It is understood that the BCCI’s medical team which is travelling with the squad will now review the footage and find if there was actually any breach. The team has already been told to avoid dining in indoor restaurants. This isn’t the first time CA has taken such a stance. Earlier, during the Big Bash League, it did the same with Chris Lynn and Dan Lawrence (Brisbane Heat) for a similar breach of protocol.
Among the five, Rohit, named the vice captain, and Gill are supposed to be playing the third Test starting from January 7. From the time India players headed to the UAE in the third week of August, they have been living in a bio-secure bubble. It is only after reaching Australia that they have been allowed to even step out of their hotel thanks to the low number of cases there.