CHENNAI: It’s an apt example of over-enthusiastic fans landing their favourite stars into trouble. It all started as a chest-thumping, over-zealous tweet of five India cricketers dining in a restaurant in front of a fan. Unfortunately, it snow-balled into a controversy. Breach of Covid-19 protocol is a serious offence and Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini are learning it the hard way after the Australian media highlighted the dine-in.
Cricket Australia issued a statement on Saturday evening saying the five have been isolated from the squad and an investigation was on to see if there was any possible breach of bio-secure protocols. The urgency shown by the 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 had trained with the rest of the squad on Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It needs to be seen if other members of the squad, too, will be monitored. 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 the statement.
Under scanner
Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini have been placed in isolation