India to visit Australia under Covid cloud

Team India are set to embark on their first tour since the Covid-19 outbreak with Australia geared up to host the Men in Blue, who will be allowed to train during their 14-day quarantine period upon arrival

THE ORIGINAL PLAN

Initially, it was planned to have the Indians land in Brisbane and undergo quarantine before playing six limited-over internationals in Queensland and then moving to Adelaide for the first Test

WHY THE CHANGE: Made to wait for five weeks by the Queensland govt, the Cricket Australia learnt on Monday that there were major reservations over Indians training during quarantine. This was when the New South Wales government moved in to bid for the matches and the itenerary was tweaked

THE NEW PLAN

New South Wales (NSW) govt said it has no problem with India's players training during their 14-day period in isolation Provisions for quarantine are likely to be made at the Sydney's Olympic Park, with Cricket NSW'S training facilities nearby Quarantine will begin immediately after the India squad and Australian cricketers playing in the IPL land in Sydney

India’s Test specialists who are not playing in IPL — Cheteshwar Pujara, and Hanuma Vihari — along with the national team's support staff will travel to the UAE, linking up with players and officials who are there for IPL. Together the entire squad will travel to Australia after IPL

WHAT BCCI HAS TO DECIDE

APPROVAL FOR DATES: The Indian board will have to clear the dates proposed by Cricket Australia

5 MONTHS IN A BIO-BUBBLE: For a player playing in IPL and all three formats in Australia, it would be a five-month uninterrupted period inside a bio-bubble. BCCI will have to decide when the Test specialists travel to the UAE to join the IPL bubble

PRACTICE MATCH: The possibility of a day-night practice match before the Adelaide Test is under consideration TAKING FAMILIES: BCCI will have to decide whether families would be allowed to travel. Players have sought clarifications on how strict the bio secure bubble and the 14-day quarantine would be before they take a call on whether they want their families to tag along