Cricket Australia does not seem ready to accept Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly’s request for a shorter quarantine for Team India ahead of the bilateral series Down Under.
Cricket Australia Chief Executive Nick Hockley as reportedly denied Ganguly’s request and asserted that Virat Kohli and Company will have to serve the two-week isolation on arrival for the series soon after the Indian Premier League.
Ganguly had pleaded that he did not want the players “to go that far and sit in hotel rooms”.
Hockley, while asserting that the “two-week quarantine is pretty well defined” has told ESPNCricinfo that CA would offer the Indian players the best of training facilities within the quarantine zone and allow them to prepare for the matches in the best possible manner.
“What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be. We’ll obviously take the guidance of the health experts and the authorities,” CA Chief Executive has reportedly said, while clarifying that the details of the quarantine are yet to be finalised.
“Whether it’s a hotel on-site or hotels in close proximity to venues, it’s certainly about creating that environment where we are minimising risk of infections and creating a bio secure environment is the absolute priority. There’s a huge amount at stake if we are unable to do that. Certainly, the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel…it does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into venue.”
Cricket Australia, confessed Hockley, is closely monitoring the standard operating procedures adopted by the England and Wales Cricket Board for the ongoing series against the West Indies and upcoming Tests and T2oIs against Pakistan.
West Indies have completed two of their three Tests in England, while Pakistan cricket team has completed their isolation period and started practicing for the Test series.