India's request for shorter quarantine in Australia likely to be rejected, says report

India may have to adhere to the protocol requiring two weeks of quarantine upon arrival in Brisbane for its cricket tour of Australia.

The Indian team will play four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is in Australia in the 2020-21 season. - GETTY IMAGES

India may have to adhere to the protocol requiring two weeks of quarantine upon arrival in Brisbane for its cricket tour of Australia, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald .

“Queensland health officials are set to make cricket’s most powerful nation adhere to strict national protocols, details of which have delayed Cricket Australia announcing a revised schedule for its USD 300 million summer,” said the report.

It means BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s request for a reduced quarantine period for the Indian team is likely to be rejected. “We just hope the number of quarantine days get reduced a bit. Because we don’t want the players to go all that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks. It is very, very depressing and disappointing. We are looking at that, the quarantine thing,” Ganguly had said in July.

According to the report, the BCCI had filed an application requesting that an extended playing squad, coaches, support staff and families land in Brisbane days after the final of the ongoing Indian Premier League in the UAE on November 10, and it is under consideration.

“Queensland Health is currently assessing an application received from the Indian cricket team. We will work directly with the team as the assessment progresses,” a Queensland Health spokeswoman said.

Six-day quarantine in Dubai

India is set to travel to Australia with a large squad of 23 to 25 playing members across formats considering the requirements of the series to be played in bio-bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari and the support staff led by head coach Ravi Shastri are likely to have a six-day quarantine in Dubai during the business end of the IPL before flying off to Australia.

It is understood that the two sides will play the white-ball series before the Test with the three-match ODIs in Brisbane (tentatively November 26, 28 and 30), followed by T20s at the Adelaide Oval (December 4, 6, 8).

The four-match Test series is slated to start on December 17.

Recently, the New Zealand’s women’s team also had to go through a 14-day quarantine in Queensland, where it was allowed to train, before its series against Australia.