The five players have been separated from the Indian and Australian squads. Releasing an official statement over the incident, Cricket Australia informed that the “The BCCI and CA are investigating the matter and seeking to determine whether the outing constitutes a breach of biosecurity protocols.”
The CA statement further read, "In the interim, on the advice of the Australian and Indian medical teams, the aforementioned players have been placed in isolation as a precaution. This will include separating the group of players from the broader Indian and Australian squads when traveling and at the training venue."
The statement also said that, “Players will be permitted to train in accordance with the strict protocols that have been put in place to ensure the ongoing safety of all members of the Indian and Australian squads.”
The video of the five Indian cricketers sitting at a table in a Melbourne restaurant went viral after it was posted on the Twitter account of a fan named Navaldeep Singh.
According to Singh, he paid the bill of the Indian cricketers, and even got a hug from Rishabh Pant in return. Later though, he clarified that the ‘hug’ part was not true and that social distancing was maintained at the venue.
Earlier, CA had penalised Brisbane Heat players Chris Lynn and Dan Lawrence for breaching the bio-security protocols. While Brisbane Heat was fined $50,000 ($20,000 suspended), the players were fined $10,000 ($4,000 suspended).
CA mentioned the same in their statement saying, “Similar measures were taken during the BBL this season after it was determined two Brisbane Heat players failed to comply with tournament biosecurity protocols.”
India and Australia will meet in the third Test at Sydney, which is already experience a fresh wave of COVID-19.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
