India’s test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari along with the support staff will be undergoing a mandatory quarantine period of six-days in Dubai before departing for the tour down under. India are to play four Tests and three ODIs as per the schedule charted by Cricbuzz between December 3-January 17.
The support staff also includes coach Ravi Shastri, batting coach Vikram Rathod among others. India will send a 23 to 25 member squad for the entire series keeping in mind the quarantine protocols in the wake of COVID-19.
The BCCI are trying their best by securing all the possible logistics, for a smooth transition of players from Dubai to Australia after the mandatory quarantine. The players will also need to stay in another 14 days of quarantine down under unless the rules are relaxed by Cricket Australia.
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Mandatory Quarantine For India’s Test Specialists in Dubai
Initially, the plan was to depart with the non-IPL players along with the support staff. However, now it seems that the BCCI has decided to send the full-strength squad at one along with the support staff.
“The most feasible plan right now looks like the entire team flying together from Dubai in one chartered flight. For that, the two Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, along with our coaching staff of Ravi Shastri, Bharath Arun, Vikram Rathour and R Sridhar will arrive in Dubai, most probably at the end of this month,” a BCCI source told PTI.
“In all likelihood, the non-IPL players and the coaching staff along with other support staff would have to undergo a six-day quarantine with a separate bubble being created for them. They will also undergo tests on Days 1, 3 and 6. Once IPL is over, the squad will come together and fly out Down Under,” the BCCI official further added.
Cricket Australia had sent an initial itinerary for the series, however, there might be a change in the schedule, given the COVID situation in the country.
Virat Kohli became the first Indian captain to win a test series in Australia when the team went down under in 2019-20.
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