India vs Australia: BCCI formally requests Cricket Australia to relax strict quarantine in Brisbane for 4th Test

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly has requested Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday to relax the hard quarantine protocol in Brisbane for the fourth Test of the ongoing 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy.

A top BCCI official has written to CA head Earl Eddings, reminding the board that Team India are done with the strict isolation that was agreed upon at the beginning of the tour. As per the memorandum of Understanding signed by the two boards, there was no specification on two hard quarantine in separate cities.

The Brisbane Test, which will be the final game of the tour, is set to start on Jan. 15 at the Gabba and the quarantine rules will restrict the players to just their hotel rooms after day's play.

"The discussions are still on but today BCCI has formally sent a letter seeking relaxation of hard quarantine for its players if they are to have the match in Brisbane. The MoU that was signed never mentioned two hard quarantines. India have done one hard quarantine in Sydney (practice and back to the hotel room)," a senior BCCI official told PTI.

Speaking of BCCI's requirements, the official added," The BCCI's demand is simple. The players want to mingle with each other inside the hotel bio-bubble as they did in the IPL. They want to have their meals together inside the hotel and also have team meetings together. That's not a big demand.

The BCCI has told CA that the relaxation of the quarantine rules should be given in writing. During India's hard quarantine in Sydney after reaching from UAE, there used to be police personnel on each floor ensuring that there is no breach of bio-safety protocols. Hopefully, nothing of that sort will happen if the team travels to Brisbane. All we want is IPL style bio-bubble."

Team India has been put under strict hotel quarantine in Sydney, the venue of the ongoing third Test, and India's stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane has expressed evident distress about the same when he spoke how it was "challenging to stay in hotel" when the outside city looked "normal."

It is believed that in case Queensland authorities don't budge, then the fourth Test could well be played in Sydney from the same dates but that remains a distant possibility.

After the first two Tests, the Border Gavaskar Trophy is currently levelled at 1-1.