India vs Australia: Team India to handle housekeeping after complaints about 'lack of basic facilities' in Brisbane

Jasprit Bumrah (right) seen with Shardul Thakur and bowling coach Bharat Arun at the Gabba. (Photo: BCCI)

The Indian cricket team have been put under strict quarantine in their hotel since their arrival in Brisbane from Sydney for the fourth Test against Australia, which will get underway at the Gabba on Friday (January 15). In spite of best efforts of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the restrictions over the Team India members could not be completely lifted.

"The team members now have the permission to move around on the floors on which the rooms have been allocated to the Indian team. They are also now allowed to use the gymnasium within the hotel," sources close to the Indian team informed Zee News.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah were both in touch with Cricket Australia (CA) officials and they were assured that steps will be taken with immediate effect to make the players comfortable in Brisbane. Earlier on Tuesday, the team members were restricted to their rooms even though the entire team hotel is completely empty apart from the Indian team and their support staff.

"The team still have to do their own housekeeping in their respective rooms as hotel staff is not available for this purpose. The team still don't have access to the swimming pool in the hotel although we are hoping that the access will be provided permission for this soon," the source added.

Even Ravichandran Ashwin's wife Prithi tweeted a picture of being 'locked down' in their hotel room with a tag of 'Quarantinebane' on Wednesday morning.

Locked-in #Quarantinebane pic.twitter.com/63LItlhwPR — Prithi Ashwin (@prithinarayanan) January 13, 2021

The news of the cases linked to the Grand Chancellor Hotel, which is located close to the Indian team hotel, has come as a fresh concern in the lead up to the fourth Test. The Queensland government has allowed 50 per cent crowd capacity at the Gabba for the series decider. Face masks have been made mandatory for any fan moving around the venue during the Test.

The quarantine hotel has been evacuated with guests moved to other hotels in the state. The Queensland government is all set to test and quarantine 250 guests who were in the hotel previously, according to 9News. However, only two new Covid-19 cases have been detected in Queensland in the last 24 hours, according to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.