India ready for 2-week quarantine in Australia to save series

Sydney: Giving a positive signal regarding India's upcoming tour of Australia, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal on Friday said the Indian team are willing to quarantine themselves in host country for two weeks in order to play out the scheduled series Down Under.

India's tour of Australia will begin with a T20 tri-series in October and is scheduled to end with a four-match Test series in December. The speculation on the tour was because of the travel restrictions currently in place and the uncertainty surrounding how long it would take to control the pandemic.

According to Sydney Morning Herald, Arun Dhumal said that the Indian players would go into isolation in Australia for a fortnight before the much-awaited tour officially kicks-off.

"There is no choice everyone will have to do that. You would want to resume cricket. Two weeks is not that long a lockdown. That would be ideal for any sportsman because when you are in quarantine for such a long period, then going to another country and having a two-week lockdown it would be a good thing to do. We'll have to see what the norms are post this lockdown," Dhumal said.

Australia's cricket board stands to lose a staggering 300 million Australian dollars if the India series does not go ahead. As of now, Australia's borders are sealed till September 30.

Meanwhile, the Dhumal also indicated that Cricket Australia's request to play a five-Test series will not be accepted by BCCI. 

He said it is yet to be decided if India will play four or five Tests in Australia, but said that playing extra limited-overs fixtures would be beneficial as nations look to recoup financial losses caused by the pandemic.

''Given the revenue loss they will have on account of lockdown, post lockdown they will want to have revenue and revenue most likely will come from ODIs or T20s much more than a Test match,'' he said.(UNI)