Melbourne:The schedule for Australia's Test series against India has come under threat after reports on Sunday that the visitors are unhappy at the prospect of re-entering strict quarantine for the fourth Test in Brisbane.
The third Test in the four-match series is slated to start in Sydney on Thursday after Cricket Australia decided not to move the match in the wake of an outbreak of Covid-19 cases in the city's northern beaches. On Monday, both squads will fly to New South Wales, which reported eight new locally transmitted cases of the virus and ramped up social distancing measures on Sunday.
Queensland state has closed its border with Greater Sydney and although agreement has been reached to allow the players to fly to Brisbane for the fourth Test on January 15, there is uncertainty as to what level of restrictions they would face after having been in Sydney.
Reports in the Australian media, citing sources within the touring party, said India's players, many of whom have been in some form of quarantine or other for six months, would refuse to travel if they were going to be subjected to a hard lockdown. A spokesperson for the India team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.(UNI)