Contrary to what was said by the BCCI, that Cricket Australia had assured that Indian team players will have a degree of freedom when they land in Brisbane hotel for quarantine before the start of the fourth and final Test against Australia, it seems things are not going well for the battered Indian side.
As per a report in Times of India, the Indian contingent, which landed in Brisbane on Tuesday and checked into Sofitel, a five-star hotel located around four kilometers from the Gabba, has described the conditions and hotel as “a good one” but “a prison for all practical purposes”.
“We are locked up in our rooms, have to make our own beds, clean our own toilets. Food is coming from a nearby Indian restaurant which will be given to us on our floor. We can’t move out of the floor that’s been designated for us.
The entire hotel is empty, but we can’t use any amenities in the hotel including the swimming pool and the gym. All the cafes and restaurants in the hotel are shut,” is how members of the traveling Indian contingent described the hotel premises.
Though Brisbane is a zero-COVID zone, the Indian team is not allowed to ventures out and use the amenities of the hotel, which is practically empty, if the reports are to be believed. The team is already battered with injuries to key players with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, along with Hanuma Vihari all but ruled out of the Brisbane Test.
“But how is a team – struggling with injuries – expected to recover if basic amenities like pool and gym are now allowed? There’s no other guest in the hotel. It’s empty. Then why can’t the players use the amenities,” they added, describing the scenario as “pathetic”.
The Indian team management is not at all pleased with the treatment being meted out in Brisbane and has conveyed the same to BCCI and its operations team.
“What was promised, by way of facilities, and what’s being provided here are two diametrically opposite things. A lot of things were said earlier during this tour – like, once the mandatory quarantine is over, the players will be comfortable, will be given the necessary amenities, etc.
And now we’re being asked to make our own beds and clean our own toilets. Is that how BCCI treats these (Aussie) players when they come to India?” say those tracking developments.
The TOI report also called the current BCCI management ‘weak’ and ‘not been able to see the team’s point of view’.
“They’ve tested us some 15 to 20 times (swab tests) ever since we’ve arrived here (in November). So much so that the nostrils have flared up. Yesterday we were tested. Two days before that we were tested. A week ago, we were tested. It’s got to the point that it’s nauseating,” say those going through the procedure.
It seems the Indian team management has had enough of Cricket Australia’s false promises and has asked the BCCI to that it should either be allowed to use the amenities at the hotel and given certain facilities – which has been shared with Cricket Australia (CA) and their Indian counterparts – or be put on a flight back to India at the earliest.
Also, the senior members of the BCCI are allegedly not aware of what Ganguly and his team are doing.
“Look at the state of the team. It’s like a hospital ward. And then we expect them to come back and play a full-fledged series against England, then play the IPL, then head to England for a five-Test series, then play the T20 World Cup. Are they humans or machines?” BCCI members say.
(As per Times of India report)
