Despite the fresh Coronavirus outbreak in Adelaide, Cricket Australia (CA) interim Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley on Tuesday (November 24) said that the first Test against India will go ahead as scheduled.
The battle for the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy will kick-start with the pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.
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A cluster of COVID-19 cases forced South Australia to go into lockdown last week, which put the Day-Night Test between Australia and India under scanner.
Speaking to ANI, Hockley confirmed that the situation is now under control and the lockdown was lifted on November 21.
"There was a small cluster of COVID cases last week and we have given assurance by the South Australian government that it is been contained and the lockdown was lifted on Saturday. So we are confident that the Adelaide Test will go ahead as scheduled," Hockley said. "We have been fortunate that there has been relatively negligible community transmission but we are taking precautions. As I said we are confident that the first Test will go ahead in Adelaide as scheduled and I am very excited about it."
It has been now been more than 10 days since the Indian cricket team landed in Australia for the two-month long tour. While serving the quarantine, Virat Kohli and company are also training for both white-ball and red-ball fixtures.
"All players are our number one priority and we are working very closely with BCCI to provide absolutely the best possible conditions for training and also accommodation," said Hockley.
Team India will face Australia in three ODIs, three T20Is and four Tests during the tour Down Under.
The three ODIs will be played from November 27 to December 2, while the T20I series will be held from December 4 to December 8.
Melbourne will host the second Test from December 26 while the third and fourth Tests will be played in Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7-11) and Brisbane's Gabba (January 15-19), respectively.
"I would like to express my gratitude towards the BCCI and all the players for their sacrifice in making this tour possible and all the staff who have worked hard behind the scenes in the recent months," CA's interim CEO said. "It's a hugely important series and after the year everyone had it is going to bring a huge amount of joy to cricketing fans."
(With ANI inputs)
