XtraTime Web Desk: Virat Kohli and his team will quarantine themselves in Adelaide on reaching Down Under for their proposed tour later this year. The Indian team is likely to depart for Australia immediately after the conclusion of Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) on November 10. According to earlier plans by Cricket Australia, the Indian team was supposed to travel to Perth first but the strict quarantine guidelines by Western Australia Government has forced CA to think otherwise.
The western capital was the preferred quarantine location, but the latest development will not allow Virat and his boys to train in a biosecure environment when they arrive in November rather than having to isolate for two weeks.
According to a report in Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian team currently touring UK will also face similar problem on their way back home. The issue is further complicated by Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan’s unwillingness let players to land in Perth on the way back from Australia’s limited-overs tour of England, or from the Indian Premier League in Dubai, unless they spend a fortnight in their hotel rooms.
Adelaide is now the most likely location. Logistically, it makes the most sense because of the new hotel attached to Adelaide Oval. The hotel has two wings, meaning one section can be blocked off from the other, and rooms have already been booked for players to spend their quarantine period in the coming months.
As for the South Australia government, a spokesperson said on Sunday it was working closely with CA about hosting games but any decision would “need to be ticked off by the relevant health authorities”.
Confirmation of the WA hub snub came as Sunday’s extension of the lockdown in Victoria cast even further doubt on the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India being held at the MCG.
A CA spokesman said: “We acknowledge the WA government has a firm position on quarantine and border arrangements. The Australian men’s team will not be quarantining in Perth upon their return from the UK.”