The Indian tour of Australia towards the end of this year, is quite significant in more ways than one. Not only will it bring back international cricket back to Australia but it promises to be watched by a good number of audience which will mean that the Australian board will be much happier because of the financial windfall that a series against India will bring about. It will be an understatement to say that the Australian board is desperate for this series to go ahead.
Ofcourse, this will also be a closed series in the sense that the general populace will not be allowed to watch the games from the stands. However, the money that promises to flow from sponsorship and advertising will be enormous. If this series is cancelled, Australian cricket will be shattered. Having said that, the Australians do not want to compromise on security standards related to the pandemic. This is something that must be appreciated by everyone involved with the game.
The Board President’s request
It is a well known fact that the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Saurav Ganguly had placed a request sometime ago to shorten the quarantine period to about one week.
“we don’t want the players to go that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks”
It is a fairly accepted fact that a request from the most powerful board in the world is usually a nudge on the hosting board to fall in line. However, the Australians are not in a position to bow to pressure this time around because the rules when it comes to any foreign team visiting Australia is quite clear.
The Queensland health department is not in a mood to entertain BCCI’s request. They are all set to impose the strict quarantine rules on the Indian cricket team should they choose to go ahead with the tour.
Rules are not meant to be broken
It is a fact that resumption of sporting tournaments and bi-lateral series were approved by various governments only if the hosting association agrees to follow certain prescribed rules of which 14 days quarantine is mandatory. Bio-secure bubble is another rule which must be followed strictly as well. It is not that these rules were prescribed recently. They are in vogue over the last 3 months. Every sporting event follows such procedures. The BCCI only know too well that the Indian cricket team will have to undergo the same procedure and their team will not be exempted. Yet, the board did not care because the board does not care about the team’s performance on the field. They are least bothered weather the Indian cricket team loses reasonably or annihilated in the series.
They do not care about the fans because of whom the BCCI is this powerful. All they care about is securing their revenue. That is the reason the board went ahead and scheduled a full blown IPL. The IPL is set to complete on the 10th of November. Assuming that most of the Indian players will be playing in the IPL atleast till the 1st of November with a few playing even on the 10th, the team will not be fly to Australia before the 15th.
Two weeks quarantine from then will lead to the end of November with the test series starting on 3rd December. The team will not have any volume of time to play 2-3 proper first class games. As such, the team will be like lambs to the slaughter house. Thanks to the BCCI and its worst president.
The ridiculousness of the BCCI
We are in the midst of a once in a millennia pandemic. India is one of the country that has been ravaged by the pandemic. Infections are more than 50L and deaths more than 1L. This means that anyone travelling from India will be under serious scrutiny everywhere in the world. The Queensland Health department must not be dissuaded from its stance. They must strictly impose the restrictions on the Indian cricket team. In a way, the will also help the Australian team in dismembering the Australian teams opponents by not allowing them to play meaningful games. The BCCI and the Indian players deserve what they are likely to endure.
Ganguly can still hope
However, the last statement has not been made on this yet.
“We have worked closely with Cricket Australia to ensure players have access to appropriate training privileges under strict quarantine conditions. We have a number of dedicated medi-hotels in South Australia and the team are accommodated in one of these.
Further, “We consider each exemption request on a case-by-case basis and determine the most appropriate accommodation option,” an SA Health statement read.
Hence, the BCCI and Saurav Ganguly may still try to arm twist Cricket Australia’s hands.
Kumar’s injury during the IPL
IPL has claimed its first casualty on the Indian side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has injured himself during the ongoing IPL. He may very well miss the Australian tour. I am least bothered about whether he plays at the IPL or not. Kumar whose presence in the playing eleven in England could have very well tilted the games in India’s favour in a couple of close tests is now injured for Australia where he will be a major player. Both for his bowling and more than competent batting.
The BCCI will have to be blamed for this. For their mindless scheduling of IPL just before an important series. I shudder to think what if a few major players like Kohli, Bumrah, Shami, Rohit & Ishant injured? If that happens, the board must be taken to task. The BCCI has often proved that it is probably the most inefficient sporting body in the cricketing world among the major nations and they continue to prove that.
The Queensland Health is well within their rights to impose quarantine on the Indian players. Let us hope that they are not coerced in anyway from imposing the various procedures strictly either out of fear or favour.