Brisbane test on a knife edge as India make ultimatum
Tensions are continuing to rise around the summer with India reportedly demanding next week’s Gabba test be moved from Brisbane and coach Ravi Shastri marching unmasked into the SCG.
On Sunday it emerged that the touring side did not want the fourth test to go ahead in Brisbane if they were forced into further hotel quarantine with an unnamed source claiming they were being treated like “animals in a zoo”.
Now sports broadcaster Jimmy Smith reports the BCCI had officially written to Cricket Australia to advise them they do not want to travel to Brisbane.
The position will likely come under scrutiny, however, with hotel quarantine conditions in Sydney the same as the ones players would experience in Queensland.
India are understood to be supportive of playing both the third and fourth Tests in Sydney or moving the fourth to another city.
Complicating matters, however, is the fact that SCG curator has not begun preparing a backup pitch.
The move by the BCCI comes after Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane on Wednesday said a decision would be left to officials, not players.
“We as players, we are just focusing on this test match. The Indian team management, they will take the decisions,” Rahane said. “The test match is starting tomorrow (Thursday) so we are just focusing on that and we want to do well.”
The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Gabba test has led to tensions between the Indian and Australian camps.
“It’s boiling away. There’s some stuff starting to happen, there’s a bit of chat starting to happen so I think this test is going to be fascinating not just from a cricket point of view,” Australian captain Tim Paine said.
“There’s a bit of tension starting to boil under the surface with a lot of unnamed sources coming out from their camp saying where they want to play the fourth test and where they don’t want to go. I think it’s starting to grind a few people.”
And in a move likely to further test the patience of Cricket Australia, Indian coach Ravi Shastri was photographed walking unmasked into the SCG on Wednesday.
Every player in the Indian squad wore masks in compliance with biosecurity measures but Shastri simply walked past security guards and into the team’s dressing room.