Ahead of the third Test against Australia in Sydney on January 7, Team India were dealt a major blow as five of its players were placed in isolation for potential breach of COVID-19 protocol.
India vice-captain Rohit Sharma, opener Shubhman Gill, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini have been separated from the Indian and Australian squads after footage emerged on social media of them having food at a Melbourne restaurant.
The video was posted on the Twitter account of one Navaldeep Singh. He claimed that he had hugged Pant but later retracted it.
While BCCI brass had initially ruled out any investigation on its part into the incident, Cricket Australia's statement said a joint probe is on and the five have been isolated.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) were today alerted to a video post on social media that purported to show Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini eating at an indoor venue in Melbourne on New Year's Day," CA said in a statement.
As per protocol, players are allowed to eat out in outdoor settings, following social distancing norms.
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"The BCCI and CA are investigating the matter and seeking to determine whether the outing constitutes a breach of bio-security protocols."
The isolation protocols were put in place after consulting with medical teams.
"...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 travelling and at the training venue," CA further stated.
However, the players will be permitted to train in accordance with the protocols that have been put in place.
CA had fined Brisbane Heat after Chris Lynn and Dan Lawrence's biosecurity breaches earlier this season—the club $50,000 ($20,000 suspended) and each player $10,000 ($4,000 suspended).
England pacer Jofra Archer's biosecurity breach last year, when he stopped at his house while the squad travelled between hotels, resulted in a one-Test ban.
The four-match Test series between India and Australia is level at 1-1.
