Ind vs Aus Brisbane Test- Indian team LOCKED in hotel: After much debate, the Indian team landed in Brisbane earlier today and checked into Sofitel, a five-star hotel located around for kilometres from the Gabba. However, they’ve rather been faced with adverse conditions that a visitor (in this case visiting team) would have to bear with. The Men in Blue have literally been locked in their own floors, having to ‘make their own beds’ and ‘clean their own toilets’.
“We are locked up in our rooms, have to make our own beds, clean our own toilets. Food is coming from a nearby Indian restaurant which will be given to us on our floor. We can’t move out of our floors that’s been designated to us. The entire hotel is empty but we can’t use amenities in the hotel including the swimming pool and the gym. All the cafes and the restaurants in the hotel are shut,” revealed members of the Indian team contingent according to TOI.
Over the last few days, the Indian team reportedly raised a lot of concerns over the tough quarantine protocols in Brisbane at the end of the tour.
Indian team very upset with the treatment: The Indian team management is not at all pleased with the treatment being meted out in Brisbane and has conveyed the same to BCCI and its operations team.
“What was promised, by way of facilities, and what’s being provided here are two diametrically opposite things. A lot of things were said earlier during this tour – like, once the mandatory quarantine is over, the players will be comfortable, will be given the necessary amenities etc. And now we’re being asked to make our own beds and clean our own toilets. Is that how BCCI treats these (Aussie) players when they come to India?” say those tracking developments.
It is worth noting that team India right from the very beginning has been very reluctant to travel to Brisbane. That is the reason, BCCI wrote a letter to the Cricket Australia (CA), asking for some relaxation in the quarantine rules. BCCI was assured by CA that team will be looked after well in Brisbane – but contrary to that promise, Indian team is struggling for basic facilities.
BCCI intervenes after Team India denied basic facilities in Brisbane hotel
It is learnt that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and CEO Hemang Amin have all got in touch with their Cricket Australia counterparts after complaints reached them and have been assured that the the Indian contingent will be made to feel comfortable from here on. The series is tied 1-1 currently.
“There was no room service or house keeping facilities. The gym is very basic and not of international standards and the swimming pool can’t be accessed. This wasn’t what they were promised when they checked in,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
India will be playing the fourth Test in the Queensland capital from January 15 where the surge of COVID-19 cases and a border lockdown with New South Wales has led to a strict hotel quarantine for the Ajinkya Rahane-led team.
Asked if the players were being allowed to mingle, the Board source said: “Yes, they have been provided with a team room and are allowed to meet each other inside the hotel.”
When asked whether the team had protested with the hotel authorities, the source said: “When the manager enquired about how these things are not being taken care of, all they said was, ‘the rule applies to both Indian and Australian teams. There is no one team that has been subjected to hard quarantine rules.’
However, the Indian contingent is confident that both Ganguly and Shah will be able to amicably resolve the matter as the injury-ravaged team prepares for the series-decider.
Meanwhile, India has another problem to encounter in the series decider – related to injuries.
Ind vs Aus Brisbane Test: With Bumrah, Jadeja & Vihari ruled out, what will be India’s Playing XI
Team India’s unending injury issues in their tour of Australia continued to worsen as first all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hunamu Vihari were ruled out of the Test series against Australia and now Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the series decider due to abdominal strain.
With Bumrah, Vihari and Jadeja adding to the injury woes, India can find themselves in big trouble and might fail to find 100% fit players for the fourth Test, which is scheduled to begin from 15th January.
The situation means – India is likely to include opening batsman Mayank Agarwal in the middle order in place of Hanuma Vihari. Other than this, team India may bring in Shardul Thakur in place of Ravindra Jadeja, while T Natarajan or Washington Sundar is likely to replace Bumrah.
The playing eleven, for now, is expected to be on the following lines: Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Mayank Agarwal / Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar / T Natrajan, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.