Cricket Australia acting chief executive Nick Hockley said Australia’s Test schedule for the summer remains unchanged, with a one-off match against Afghanistan in Perth late November followed by four Tests against India in December-January.
But he was doubtful the Australian government would accommodate India cricket chief Sourav Ganguly’s suggestion that his superstar team undergoes a shortened quarantine after arriving in the country, rather than the standard protocol of 14 days.
“I think that a two-week quarantine period is pretty well defined,” Hockley was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“What we’re working on is that even within that quarantine environment the players will have the absolute best training facilities, so their preparation for the matches is optimal as it can possibly be,” he added.
He revealed that Australian players will also have to be in quarantine if they are returning from the Indian Premier League that could be held in the United Arab Emirates in September.
Cricket Australia will need to get clearance from the Australian government to fly the Indian cricket team to the country as travel restrictions are likely to be in effect especially with the growing number of Covid-19 cases in India.
“We will need to get exemptions. It’s widely known and it’s unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements on time with government and health authority protocol,” he said.
Cricket Australia has been monitoring the protocols set for England’s home series against the West Indies and may opt for venues that have attached hotel facilities. The Adelaide Oval is one such venue and could be used to host India when they land Down Under.
“Whether it’s a hotel on-site or hotels in close proximity to venues, it’s certainly about creating that environment where we are minimising the risk of infections, and creating a bio-secure environment is the absolute priority. There’s a huge amount at stake if we are unable to do that. Certainly, the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel, we’re obviously in discussion with all venues. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue,” Hockley said.
India men’s team will play three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs in a period stretching from October to January next year while the women’s teams will face off in a three-match ODI series in January.
