Australia speedster and Test captain Pat Cummins reacted to the news of ICC confirming that there will be no mandatory testing during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 and no isolation period if a player gets COVID-19, instead putting the onus on team doctors "to assess whether it is appropriate" for players to compete if they get COVID-19.
Teams will however be permitted to make squad changes should a player return a positive PCR test, with the infected player then allowed to return to the squad upon returning a negative test.
This comes after Tahlia McGrath of the Australian women’s team was allowed to play in the gold medal match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 against India despite testing Covid positive on the morning of the match.
Cummins, who missed last summer's Adelaide Test after being deemed a close contact of a positive case who sat near him at a restaurant, said it has been a relief to shed the more onerous bubble rules.
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"It's a totally different dynamic. The team went out for dinner last night and we actually were chatting about it, (saying) 'this is the first time we've done this for about three years'. It's great fun. It's one of the main things we all love about playing for your country – you get to go and see new places and experience different things,” Cummins told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
Cummins conceded the Covid restrictions had helped the Australian men's side collect their first T20 World Cup in November 2021.
He said: "Last year we had a lot of fun, but it was really (only) our group. You didn't see anyone, even hotel staff. You were by yourself. T20, (more than) any other format, is a format where if someone has an off game or two, you can't just wallow in it. You need to pick them up straight away.
Having a really tight group in T20s is important because it means you can go out and be fearless. I thought that was a big part of it last year. Prioritizing our team time (is important). It's the start of the summer so everyone is relatively fresh and excited. Just making sure we find time for team activities."
Australia play India in their first warmup match on October 17 in Brisbane.
(Cricket.com.au inputs)
