India to have 2-week quarantine in Australia

Hockley’s statement is in complete contrast to the views of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly, who had made it clear that he is not in favour of a twoweek quarantine period for the India team once it disembarks in Australia.

 Hockley said all the players and support staff would be provided with the best of the facilities to train within quarantine rules.

 “The two-week quarantine (period) is pretty well-defined. We want to make sure that even within the quarantine environment, the players get the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be,” Hockley was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

 “We will obviously take the guidance of the health experts and authorities. Whether it is a hotel onsite or hotels in close proximity to the venues, it is certainly about creating that environment where we are minimising risk of infections. Creating a bio-secure environment is the absolute priority,” he added.

 The website reported that not only the visiting India team but also the Indian Premier League-returning Australia cricketers would have to serve the mandatory quarantine period.

 Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday said it accepts the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to postpone the T20 World Cup owing to the coronavirus pandemic, reiterating that there was considerable risk in hosting 16 teams “in the current environment”. ICC on Monday postponed this year’s T20 World Cup after deliberating on unspecified contingency plans for over two months. “The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting sporting tournaments across the globe and cricket is not immune,” said Nick Hockley, CA’s acting chief and ICC T20 WC 2020 CEO.

 “The complexities and risks around hosting a 16-team international event in October in the current environment ultimately proved sufficient for ICC to postpone the event,” he added. The global competition was supposed to be held from October 18 to November 15 in Australia but CA, in May itself, had expressed its inability to host amid a second surge of COVID-19 cases in the state of Victoria.

 “We accept ICC’s decision. It was a decision made with the safety and wellbeing of fans, players, officials and staff in mind.”