"They’ll honour their commitment"- Sunil Gavaskar backs India to play the Brisbane Test
Sunil Gavaskar believes the Indian team will not pull out of the fourth Test against Australia. Gavaskar feels the Indian team will honour their commitment, and the Brisbane Test will likely be played as per schedule.
Many reports have emerged that the Indian team wants to pull out of the fourth Test over the past few days because they will have to go through another round of strict quarantine. Speaking on Channel 7, Sunil Gavaskar empathised with the Indian players' situation and said:
"Think it’s a long time and by the time they finish the tour, it will be another eight days, maybe nine days we’re talking. 150 days in quarantine. Which is never easy. I spent 14 days in quarantine when I came here, and that was tough, so I can understand, I didn’t have any pressures of performing for my country. You’re trying to perform for your country, and then you’re in hard quarantine, then you’re alone, you know all kinds of thoughts can engulf you and actually make it even worse."
"When you do that hard quarantine, you go back to your room. So if you had a bad day at the field, then all kind of thoughts are coming to your mind. So what the Indians want is they should be treated like the other Australians. The other Australians who will come to the ground, who will go back to their families, who might go to the pub, so that is what they want. So that they will be able to enjoy the fresh air, where the thoughts of the game do not crowd their mind because you wanna relax, But I honestly don’t think we’ll get to a situation where they say they’re not going to Brisbane. I think they’ll honour their commitment." Gavaskar added.
The upcoming match has been embroiled in controversy ever since reports emerged that the Indian team doesn't want to go through another round of hard quarantine. More fuel was added to the fire when Queensland's Health Shadow Minister Ros Bates commented:
"If the Indians don't want to play by the rules, don't come."
Why might India be subjected to another rigid quarantine?
Talks of problems with the Indian team going through another quarantine emerged after a cleaner at a Brisbane quarantine hotel tested positive for the new highly contagious U.K. variant of COVID-19.
As things stand, the Indian team are looking for some relaxation in quarantine policy at the hotel, with both boards still in discussion. According to the rules, the players would not be allowed to mingle with each other even on the hotel premises, and they would strictly have to stay in their rooms once they arrive in Brisbane.