Indian cricket team complains its quarantine hotel in Brisbane is ‘like a prison’ and players have to make their own beds and are confined to one floor – after almost boycotting match
- Indian team arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday and are staying at a hotel quarantine
- Players have complained they have to make their own beds and clean toilets
- Officials have since said the issues will be resolved and housekeeping offered
- India nearly boycotted the fourth Test after refusing to enter quarantine again
The Indian cricket team are fed up they’ve had to make their own beds and clean their toilets during their stay in a Brisbane hotel quarantine facility – after nearly boycotting the fourth Test altogether.
The players arrived at the Sofitel in Brisbane on Tuesday ahead of the final Test match which will start at The Gabba on Friday.
Tensions almost reached boiling point last week as Cricket Australia anxiously awaited to hear if India would refuse to make the trip to Queensland after complaining about the state’s strict quarantine protocols.
The Test was only confirmed to be going ahead on Sunday but after just one night in the Sofitel, players claimed it was like ‘prison for all practical purposes’.
The Indian cricket team have complained about their treatment in a Brisbane quarantine facility after having to clean their own rooms (pictured Indian players arrive for training session at SCG)
Players for India have complained they’ve been confined to their floors and can’t access the hotel gym or pool
‘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 to us,’ a source for the team told the Times of India.
Players were also unimpressed that the gym and pool were off limits and none of the restaurants or cafes in the hotel were open.
The source said the situation was ‘pathetic’ because no other guests were staying in the hotel.
‘What was promised, by way of facilities, and what’s being provided here are two diametrically opposite things,’ they said.
Fortunately for the players, Board of Control for Cricket in India officials were quick to step in and resolved the issues with Cricket Australia.
‘The board has been told that the team has been given access to all the lifts in the hotel. They can use a gym too. It has been assured that there will be room service and house keeping,’ a senior BCCI official told the Times of India.
‘The team has also been given a team room where they can assemble and have meetings. Only the swimming pool is not open for use.’
Drama over quarantine that threatened to detail the tour started weeks ago when the Indian players ‘spat the dummy’ at the though of another tough quarantine.
The players arrived at the Sofitel in Brisbane on Tuesday ahead of the final Test match which will start at The Gabba on Friday (pictured players arriving at Brisbane Airport)
Tensions had escalated last week after Indian officials refused to confirm if the team would fly to Queensland for the final Test
Players had already spent two weeks in quarantine when they arrived in Australia and had expected to be able to move freely across the country after that.
But Covid-19 outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne made Queensland put up its borders to both states and force arrivals into hotel quarantine.
Officials earlier suggested the match be played in another city, such as staying in Sydney, to avoid the need for another stint locked in a hotel.
CA finally said on Monday that India’s touring party confirmed with them they were happy to play in Brisbane and agreed to the city’s quarantine protocols.
‘The fourth Test will be at the Gabba, as planned,’ interim CA chief executive Nick Hockley said on SEN Radio.
‘On the basis of yesterday’s discussions we are full steam ahead to play the fourth Test at the Gabba.’
Australian players are seen arriving at the Sofitel Hotel on Tuesday
Before the confirmation was given, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon hit out telling players to ‘suck it up’ and stop complaining.
‘I’m not even thinking about Plan B or not playing at the Gabba… 100 per cent planning on going to Brissie and sticking with Plan A. We’ve heard nothing (to the contrary),’ he said.
‘There’s a few people from both squads who have been in a bubble for close to six months now but in my eyes it’s a very small sacrifice.
‘Let’s just suck it up and get on with it. And stop complaining.’
The Queensland government has reduced the crowd capacity for the final Test to 50 per cent while making masks mandatory for any fans moving around the venue.
Australia last lost at the Gabba in 1988, with their undefeated run of 31 matches at the ground the longest for any team at any venue in world cricket.
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