Indian players cleared of COVID-19 ahead of Sydney Test

BCCI probes bio-security breach by India cricketers in Aus: Report. (photo:twittre)
Prithvi Shaw, left, and Rohit Sharma at a Melbourne restaurant. File photo: IANS

Melbourne: India's cricketers and staff have been cleared of COVID-19 following reports some of the team's players breached health protocols while on tour in Australia.

Five Indian cricketers were placed in isolation over the weekend while the Australian and Indian cricket boards investigated allegations of a breach of bio-security protocols after a video surfaced showing the players eating at a Melbourne restaurant.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the players and support staff were tested on Sunday.

"All tests have returned negative results," the BCCI said in a statement on Monday.

A Cricket Australia (CA) spokesman said Australia's players and staff had also been cleared after tests on Sunday.

The BCCI made no comment on the investigation into the five Indian cricketers.

According to strict bio-security protocols set by CA, players are allowed to sit outside but not allowed to dine inside restaurants.

Australia and India are in the middle of a four-Test series, being played in the backdrop of strict health measures, with both sides to travel to New South Wales for the third Test in Sydney from Thursday.

CA said on Monday the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground would be reduced to 25 per cent capacity and tickets would be reissued.

Organisers had planned for a half-capacity crowd at the stadium, drawing criticism from some health experts who said it would place people under risk amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in Sydney.

While the Sydney match will go ahead, there was some doubt over the fourth Test in Brisbane, with reports India's cricketers were unhappy at the prospect of having to re-enter strict quarantine.

Queensland state, of which Brisbane is the capital, has closed its border with New South Wales after the outbreak in Sydney.

Agreement was reached to allow the players to fly to Brisbane for the fourth Test on January 15, but they will have to quarantine while in the city.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.